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‘How can I live?’ Quake survivor mourns relatives’ deaths

A man looks at a damaged building after an earthquake in Thumane, western Albania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. Overnight, authorities said four more people had been confirmed dead, and one more death was reported early Wednesday afternoon, raising the death toll to 26, while more than 650 people were injured in the magnitude-6.4 quake that struck the country's coastal cities. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A man looks at a damaged building after an earthquake in Thumane, western Albania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. Overnight, authorities said four more people had been confirmed dead, and one more death was reported early Wednesday afternoon, raising the death toll to 26, while more than 650 people were injured in the magnitude-6.4 quake that struck the country's coastal cities. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A man looks at a damaged building after an earthquake in Thumane, western Albania, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019. Overnight, authorities said four more people had been confirmed dead, and one more death was reported early Wednesday afternoon, raising the death toll to 26, while more than 650 people were injured in the magnitude-6.4 quake that struck the country's coastal cities. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

By LLAZAR SEMINI and VISAR KRYEZIU / The Associated Press 5 min read

DURRES, Albania (AP) – Stopping at intervals to listen for sounds of survivors, local and international rescue crews searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings Wednesday, as hopes of finding people alive waned a day after a deadly earthquake in Albania killed at least 30 and injured more than 650.

Those desperate for news included police officer Ajet Peci, who managed to emerge from the ruins of an apartment block that collapsed in the port city of Durres, killing his two adult daughters. His wife was still missing.

“How can I live?” Peci said, sobbing as he was consoled by neighbors, a bandage under his right eye and on a finger of his left hand. “I don’t know what I did to make it out. I wish I had stayed with them.”

Neighbors said only about four or five families were living in the five-story building at the time of the quake, as the owners of some of the apartments had emigrated.

Overnight, authorities said four more people had been confirmed dead, and five more deaths were reported later Wednesday. Those killed included at least three children, Defense Minister Olta Xhacka said.