DURRES, Albania (AP) — The hope of finding more survivors in the rubble in Albania was fading on Thursday, two days after the deadly earthquake that remedied the country’s Adriatic coast. The death toll increased to 40 people after more corpses were rescued from the ruins. Authorities will continue search and rescue efforts in the port city of Durres, 33 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital Tirana, after recovering three bodies overnight.
The operation ended, however, in the nearby town of Thumane, where six bodies were recovered from the rubble overnight and it is believed that no more missing are missing. More than 650 people were injured in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake recorded in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The powerful earthquake was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, including several of magnitudes greater than 5.0, complicating rescue efforts. Neighboring countries and other European nations alike sent rescuers with specialized teams, sniffer sniffers and basic necessities to Albania to assist in search efforts and help those who lost their homes. Many of Thumane’s people spent their second night in tents by not wanting to stay in hotels on the coast while searching. The authorities asked residents not to return to any building that may have been damaged until engineers review their structure to determine their safety.
