5 Albanian citizens wounded in devastating earthquake in central Italy

Five Albanian citizens were among those injured after a major quake hit several towns in central Italy, leaving at least 120 people dead and hundreds wounded, the Albanian foreign affairs ministry informed Wednesday.

Five Albanian nationals were among the nine injured people taken to Rome's Agostino Gemelli hospital by helicopter. Fortunately, the five wounded are not suffering from life threatening injuries, according to the Albanian Embassy in Rome.

The deadly quake, estimated to have struck at around 3:30 a.m. local time (0130 GMT) on Wednesday morning, was felt across a broad section of central Italy.

The economic and material damage seem to be enormous as half of the town of Amatrice is under ruins while thousands of houses have been totally destroyed. According to local authorities, even the death toll is expected to increase as many people are still reported missing or are under the ruins.

Following the news, Albanian President Bujar Nishani sent his condolences to Italian President Sergio Mattarella and the families of the victims, saying Albanian people shared the grief with those affected by the earthquake.

Source : XINHUA