Balkan countries rush to help in Albanian earthquake
Posted Nov 29, 2019 11:53:29 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TIRANA, Albania — In the initial hours after a deadly pre-dawn earthquake struck Albania, pancaking buildings and trapping dozens of sleeping people beneath the rubble, the country’s neighbours sprang into action. Offers of help flooded in from across Europe and beyond, with even traditional foes setting aside their differences in the face of the natural disaster.
Soon, specialized rescue crews were arriving by the planeload. One of the most striking was a 13-person team from Serbia, a country with traditionally poor relations with Albania due to an ongoing dispute concerning Kosovo, a former province of Serbia whose ethnic Albanian majority took up arms to fight for independence.
The 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Tuesday killed at least 49 people, injured 2,000 and left at least 4,000 homeless.
Elena Becatoros And Llazar Semini, The Associated Press
