Quake kills boy, damages buildings in Croat capital Zagreb

ZAGREB — A 5.3-magnitude earthquake shook the Croatian capital of Zagreb Sunday, killing a 15-year-old boy, damaging buildings and cutting electricity in a number of neighborhoods.

The quake struck around 06:00 am (0500 GMT), causing many residents to rush into the streets, an AFP correspondent said.

A 15-year-old boy was crushed to death by a 5.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked Croatia on Sunday, state media reported.

“We got a call about a collapsed building… Teams went to the spot and found a seriously injured child who did not show signs of life”, Zarko Rasic, the head of Zagreb’s emergency unit told state-run HINA news agency, adding the boy’s age was 15.

The 5.3-magnitude temblor’s epicenter was seven kilometers north of Zagreb, according to the CSEM Euro-Mediterranean seismological centre.

In old neighborhoods of central Zagreb, building facades crumbled and many parts of the city were left without power.

A 5.0 magnitude aftershock occurred an hour later, the CSEM said.

The Balkans lie on major faultlines and are regularly hit by earthquakes.