Woman dies as earthquake strikes southern Bosnia

A 5.7-MAGNITUDE earthquake rocked southern Bosnia late on Friday, killing one person and injuring several others.

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. Several others were lightly injured, including members of the victim’s family.

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

The shallow quake struck at 9.07pm GMT and was centred 14km (nine miles) north-east of Ljubinje, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

It was felt across the Balkans as far away as Belgrade, Zagreb and Skopje, more than 400km from the epicentre. 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 Dec 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 magnitude earthquake that also left thousands homeless.