At least seven people are reportedly dead after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Central Croatia Tuesday (December 29,) the second to hit the country within two days.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Center confirmed the earthquake registered at 6.3 magnitude and struck 46 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Zagreb just prior to 12:20 p.m., causing widespread damage in Petrinja, the town hit hardest by the earthquake, the Associated Press reports.
Petrinja was also hit by an earthquake that registered at 5.2 magnitude on Monday. Local officials confirmed a 12-year-old girl was among the seven individuals who died and at least 26 people hospitalized, including six with "serious injuries," in the destruction to the town, which has a population of around 25,000, according to the AP.
Officials also said many more people are unaccounted for after the earthquake. One woman was reportedly found alive by local emergency teams, who used rescue dogs while searching for survivors on Tuesday.
“My town has been completely destroyed. We have dead children,” Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT via the AP. “This is like Hiroshima - half of the city no longer exists.”
Petrinja was also left without electricity and running water as responders worked to temporarily accommodate for the residents displaced by the earthquake.
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