One killed, several injured as 5.7 earthquake shakes Bosnia

According to local media sources, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck southern Bosnia late Friday, killing one person and injuring numerous others.

According to a medical source mentioned by the media, a 28-year-old woman was hurt when a rock fell on her house in the town of Stolac, near Mostar, and died in hospital. Several others, including members of the victim’s family, were slightly injured.

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 defense authorities.

The shallow quake struck at 2107 GMT and was centered 14 kilometers (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 kilometers from the epicenter, 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.

A 5.3 earthquake struck Zagreb in March 2020, causing major damage. A 6.4 earthquake struck Albania in November 2019, killing more than 50 people and displacing others.