BUCHAREST, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Romania sent a 50-member team to Albania on Tuesday to conduct search and rescue missions after a strong earthquake measuring 6.3-magnitude on the Richter scale hit the country.
Two aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, C-27J Spartan and C-130 Hercules, were assigned to send to Tirana the Romanian Urban Search and Rescue Team, with the necessary equipment, according to a press release of the Ministry of National Defense.
The team is a United Nations-authorized one for such a mission and will act in the disaster area until the search-and-rescue operations are stopped, head of the Emergency Situations Department Raed Arafat was quoted by local media as saying.
The earthquake hit Albania at 3:55 a.m. local time on Tuesday and demolished buildings, apartments and hotels in the port city of Durres and nearby town of Thumane. So far, 21 people were killed.
