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After Devastating Earthquake, Albania Begins to Bury Victims

Keida Kostreci

   Albanians began the week on a high note, as they prepared to celebrate
   the country's Independence Day, and finished it in heartbreak, Friday
   burying loved ones who perished in the worst earthquake to hit the
   Balkan country in decades.

   Forty-nine people died, including seven children ages 2 to 8, and 900
   were injured; 5,200 people are without shelter; and 1,200 buildings
   were destroyed in the 6.4-magnitude quake Tuesday. The panic has been
   palpable as people refuse to go home. They also have been rattled by
   several aftershocks, including one that registered at 5.0.

   Seismologist Rexhep Koçi told VOA that while there was the likelihood
   for more aftershocks, they would be increasingly weaker.

   The port city of Durrës, 33 kilometers west of the capital, Tirana,
   saw the highest death toll, with 25 people killed. Farther north, in
   the small town of Thumanë, the quake killed 23 people, six of whom
   belonged to one family, and all but one younger than 30. They were
   buried Friday. One person also died in the nearby small town of Kurbin.

   WATCH: A vigil for quake victims in Tirana

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