Reports of at least seven dead in Croatian earthquake

Several Croatian cities were affected when a strong earthquake shook the area. It was felt all the way to the Austrian capital of Vienna and at least seven people are reported to have died.

At 11.30, Croatia was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4, reports the German geo institute GFZ.

The quake had its epicenter just over a mile below the town of Petrinja, about 50 miles southeast of the capital Zagreb.

A 12-year-old girl was killed in Petrinja. The mayor of the nearby town of Glina also told the state television channel that four people have died there.

Rescue services also stated that dozens of people were injured in the quake.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrei Plenković told the N1 that the military had been sent to the area to help.

Video recordings and photos from Petrinja show people being rescued from landslides, streets filled with debris and houses where the roofs collapsed.

In the capital Zagreb, the quake caused people to seek refuge out of buildings and down the street in protection against possible landslides.

The quake was also felt in neighboring countries - all the way to the Austrian capital Vienna, the ground is said to have shaken. In neighboring Slovenia, the Slovenian-Croatian nuclear power plant Krsko was shut down as a precautionary measure.