One killed, several injured as 5.7 quake shakes Bosnia

STOLAC

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Bosnia late on April 22, killing one person and injuring several others, local media reports said.

A 28-year-old woman who was injured when a rock fell on her house in the town of Stolac, near Mostar, died in hospital, a medical source quoted by media said. Several others were lightly injured, including members of the victim’s family.

The earthquake also toppled walls and caused property damage in several other localities, including Mostar and the town of Ljubinje, according to local and civil defence authorities.

The shallow quake struck at 2107 GMT and was centred 14 kilometres (nine miles) northeast of Ljubinje, the US Geological Survey said.

It was felt across the Balkans as far away as Belgrade, Zagreb and Skopje, more than 400 kilometres from the epicentre, according to AFP correspondents. Reports to the USGS indicated the quake was also felt in Albania and southern Italy.
It was followed by several weaker aftershocks.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre warned that "aftershocks are likely to happen in the coming hours and days".

The Balkans is prone to seismic activity and earthquakes are frequent.

A 6.4-magnitude quake on December 29, 2020 in the Petrinja region of Croatia, near the capital Zagreb, killed seven people and destroyed hundreds of buildings and houses.

In March 2020, Zagreb was hit by a 5.3 tremor that caused extensive damage. In November 2019, more than 50 people were killed in Albania by a 6.4 earthquake that also left thousands homeless.