Central Croatia was hit by new earthquakes on Wednesday, December 30, the day after a massive earthquake that killed at least seven people, damaged hundreds of homes and deprived entire neighborhoods of electricity.
Read also: Croatia: an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4, at least 7 dead
According to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) two earthquakes of magnitude 4.8 and 4.7 struck the region of Sisak, southeast of Zagreb, a few minutes apart after 5:15 GMT.
No new damage was immediately reported.
This region, and in particular the locality of Petrinja and its surroundings, was still in shock from the magnitude 6.4 shock the day before felt in neighboring countries and even in Vienna.
"
The horror in Petrinja
", headlined the Croatian press.
“
A year of disaster ends with the destruction
” of a region, one media headline read.
Rescue workers worked hard to search for possible survivors in the ruins of buildings collapsed by the violence of the earthquake.
Fearing aftershocks, many residents spent the night in their cars, around 200 others took shelter in a barracks.
The earthquake left seven people dead, including a 13-year-old girl who was killed when a building fell as she walked down the street in Petrinja, according to local press.
Five men were killed in the nearby village of Majske Poljane, near Glina, Deputy Mayor Branka Baksic Mitic said.
The seventh victim was found under the rubble of a church in the village of Zazina.
According to the local priest quoted by the Hina agency, it was the organist who came to repair the organ damaged in a previous earthquake.
Around 20 people were injured, according to Croatian police.
The mountain rescue teams searched more than 80 villages in the region without finding any new victims, the head of this unit, Josip Granic, told reporters.
Hundreds of buildings, houses, administrative buildings and schools were damaged.
Areas of Petrinja and Sisak were still without electricity on Wednesday morning.
The Croatian government is due to meet during the day to determine the assistance to be given to the stricken region while the head of crisis management for the European Union, Janez Lenarcic, is expected there.
Brussels planned to send aid "
winter tents, electric heaters, beds and sleeping bags, as well as containers that can be used as shelters,
" he said on Twitter.