Earthquake in Croatia, quake of magnitude 6.4. Petrinja center destroyed, hospital and asylum collapsed: “At least 7 dead, including a 12-year-old girl”. At least 20 injured, six are serious – direct

Earthquake tremors so powerful as to reduce the entire historic center to one pile of rubble, under which the intervention teams have already found six lifeless bodies, including that of one 12 year old girl and a boy of 20. Petrinja, a city about fifty kilometers south of Zagreb, in Croatia, is semi-destroyed after the shock of magnitude 6.4 that hit her around 12.20 today, just over 24 hours after yesterday’s 5.2 earthquake. In both cases, the Croatian city was the epicenter, while a new quake, at 13.34 and of magnitude 4.5, was recorded at Helmet, a nearby town.

According to the first information coming from the place, the center was completely destroyed by the quake and they also collapsed a hospital and a kindergarten. In addition to the victims, they are counted at least 20 injured, of which you are serious. The mayor of Petrinja, Darinko Dumbovi, speaking to the broadcaster 24 Sata, said: “It’s terrible, there are dead and wounded, we saw a dead child in a square, the center of Petrinja is destroyed. It is a disaster, come Hiroshima“.

The Croatian premier Andrej Plenkovic, who was evacuated from the government seat of the capital, which was also damaged, spoke on the phone with the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which has promised urgent aid from the Union. “We are ready to help, I begged the Commissioner Janez Lenarcik to travel to Croatia as soon as the situation permits, ”von der Leyen said. Meanwhile, the Croatian army has been mobilized to provide assistance to the affected populations. At least 300 soldiers left for Petrinja. And the President of the Republic also arrived on the spot, Zoran Milanovic: “What happened was horrible. It was a horrible year, a little girl’s life was lost. This city will be rebuilt, but no one will be able to compensate for the emotional and spiritual damage suffered ”.

Both the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, that the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, sent their message of support to the country, adding that Italy is ready to offer support. “I learned with sadness the news of the strong earthquakes that hit your country in the last few hours, causing victims and considerable damage, especially to Petrinja – reads the message from the Head of State to his Croatian counterpart – I would therefore like to express to you and to all the Croatian people, in particular to those who face the difficulties generated by the earthquake, the most sincere sentiments of condolence and shared closeness of the Italian Republic. In confirming that in this difficult circumstance Croatia can count on solidarity and collaboration with Italy, I renew to you, on behalf of the Italian people and my personal, my deepest condolences “. While Conte on Twitter expressed “my deepest condolences to Andrej Plenkovic and the Croatian government for the devastating earthquake that hit the city of Petrinja and the whole country. Our solidarity and closeness to Croatian friends. Italy is ready to provide you with all the assistance and help you need“.

The earthquake was felt throughout Croatia, but also in Serbia e Bosnia Herzegovina. A nuclear power plant in Slovenia it was closed as a precaution. The shock, just like yesterday, was also felt in Italy, along the Adriatic coast, from Trieste to Abruzzo. Reports have also come from Ravenna and from the north of Naples. The strong shock was even felt inside the GranSasso Nuclear Physics Laboratories. The operators clearly noticed the earthquake due to the remarkable sensitivity of the instruments. Among these, especially the department that uses the ‘cryostat’, a kind of huge very sensitive refrigerator that studies neutrinos in the ‘Heart’ experiment, which has heated up in a sensitive way.

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