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CHILLING photos reveal Albania's earthquake carnage as blood-covered victims are pulled from rubble and 1,000s have been left homeless.

Eighteen people have now been confirmed dead after the magnitude 6.4 quake struck 19 miles northwest of the capital, Tirana, say defence officials.

Emergency workers look for survivors buried in the debris at a damaged building in the coastal city of Durres
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Emergency workers look for survivors buried in the debris at a damaged building in the coastal city of DurresCredit: AFP or licensors
Soldiers and rescue workers carry an injured man found in debris of a collapsed building in Thumane
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Soldiers and rescue workers carry an injured man found in debris of a collapsed building in ThumaneCredit: AFP or licensors
Thousands have been left without homes after the earthquake brought down buildings
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Thousands have been left without homes after the earthquake brought down buildingsCredit: Getty - Contributor
The body of a girl, 5, is removed from the rubble
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The body of a girl, 5, is removed from the rubbleCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Bosnia just hours later.

Two women were found in the rubble of an apartment building in the northern village of Thumane, and a man died in the town of Kurbin after panicking and jumping out of a building, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said.

The bodies of three other victims were pulled from the wreckage of two collapsed buildings in Durres, the ministry added.

Emergency workers told local media one of those killed was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her body.

Unverified video footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a collapsed building in Durres, 25 miles west of Tirana, on the Adriatic coast.

Rescue crews are using excavators in a desperate search for survivors trapped in toppled apartment buildings.

A damaged house is seen after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Thumane, western Albania, November 26
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A damaged house is seen after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Thumane, western Albania, November 26Credit: AP:Associated Press
An interior door is exposed by the fall of a house in Thumane, Albania
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An interior door is exposed by the fall of a house in Thumane, AlbaniaCredit: Reuters
Emergency workers told local media one of those killed was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her body
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Emergency workers told local media one of those killed was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her bodyCredit: Reuters
The quake in Albania collapsed at least three apartment buildings while people slept
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The quake in Albania collapsed at least three apartment buildings while people sleptCredit: AFP or licensors

Defence bosses said that the bodies of two men were discovered this afternoon in a collapsed hotel in Durres.

Many collapsed buildings in Durres and Thumane are believed to still contain trapped people, with 43 extracted from the ruins so far, reports the Associated Press.

Search and rescue teams from around Europe have converged on Albania to help save more victims.

Teams from Italy, Greece and Romania are now in Albania, while Hungary, Germany, Croatia, France, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Turkey have also offered help.

Avoid earthquake-hit areas

Footage shows buildings with large cracks and fallen masonry, including one apartment with most of a bedroom wall missing.

"Firefighters and army staff are helping residents (caught) under the rubble", in Durres and the nearby village of Thumane, the Defence Ministry spokeswoman told reporters.

An unidentified man, with a wound dressing on his right cheek, told News24 TV his daughter and niece were among those trapped in a collapsed apartment building in Durres.

"I talked with my daughter and niece on the phone. They said they are well and are waiting for the rescue.

“Could not talk to my wife. There are other families, but I could not talk to them," the man said.

National police said people in Durres and the surrounding areas to avoid driving so emergency services could reach those affected by the earthquake.

Two government spokesmen told Reuters the biggest damage to buildings was in Durres and a few people had been taken to hospital in Tirana.

A witness described residents fleeing apartment buildings in Tirana, some carrying babies
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A witness described residents fleeing apartment buildings in Tirana, some carrying babiesCredit: AP:Associated Press
Several smaller tremors were recorded in the hour before the main quake, which was also felt across the Balkans and in the southern Italian region of Puglia
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Several smaller tremors were recorded in the hour before the main quake, which was also felt across the Balkans and in the southern Italian region of PugliaCredit: Reuters
National police said people in Durres and the surrounding areas to avoid driving so emergency services could reach those affected by the earthquake
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National police said people in Durres and the surrounding areas to avoid driving so emergency services could reach those affected by the earthquakeCredit: Reuters
Emergency workers told local media one of those killed was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her body
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Emergency workers told local media one of those killed was an elderly woman who had managed to save her grandson by cradling him with her bodyCredit: Reuters

A witness described residents fleeing apartment buildings in Tirana, some carrying babies.

Power was down in several neighbourhoods.

Three hours after the main tremor, a strong aftershock rocked the city.

Several smaller tremors were recorded in the hour before the main quake, which was also felt across the Balkans and in the southern Italian region of Puglia.

"We were awake because of the previous quakes, but the last one shook us around. Everything at home kept falling down," Refik, a Tirana resident, told Reuters of what happened in his sixth-floor apartment.

Located along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, between Greece and Macedonia, Albania experiences regular seismic activity.

Greece, Italy and Turkey are regions particularly prone to earthquakes
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Greece, Italy and Turkey are regions particularly prone to earthquakes
The 6.4 magnitude quake was felt across the southern Balkans and was followed by multiple aftershocks
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The 6.4 magnitude quake was felt across the southern Balkans and was followed by multiple aftershocksCredit: AP:Associated Press
Rescuers carry an injured woman after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Thumane
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Rescuers carry an injured woman after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in ThumaneCredit: AP:Associated Press
Rescuers free trapped residents from demolished buildings
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Rescuers free trapped residents from demolished buildingsCredit: AFP or licensors

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook the country on Sept. 21, damaging around 500 houses and destroying some. The Defence Ministry had said it was the most powerful quake in Albania in the last 30 years.

The images of collapsed or semi-collapsed buildings in urban areas suggested Tuesday's quake was more powerful than one in 1979 which razed a neighbourhood of the northern town of Shkoder, bordering Montenegro.

Neither of those two earlier earthquakes caused any fatalities.

The Balkan nation is the poorest country in Europe, with an average income of less than a third of the European Union average, according to Eurostat data.

At least 14 people have died after an earthquake struck Albania
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At least 14 people have died after an earthquake struck AlbaniaCredit: AP:Associated Press
Relatives of people living at a collapsed building cry in Thumane, Albania
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Relatives of people living at a collapsed building cry in Thumane, AlbaniaCredit: AFP or licensors
Buildings up and down the Albanian coast have been badly damaged by the tremor - a quake has also hit nearby Bosnia
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Buildings up and down the Albanian coast have been badly damaged by the tremor - a quake has also hit nearby BosniaCredit: AP:Associated Press
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