AJ 25th Book_Eng_digital

The Petrinja Earthquake Marin Veršić | Al Jazeera Balkans Correspondent – Croatia Nino Čučić | Al Jazeera Balkans Cameraman – Croatia

It was supposed to be one of those days where you know how it will start and end. After a swift live at noon covering news within the Banija region, central Croatia, my cameraman Nino Čučić and I rushed to catch at least a part of a press conference by Petrinja’s mayor. Then all of a sudden, the ground beneath our feet started trembling. The walls and rooftops crumbled, as I shouted in a panic to Nino: “Turn on the camera!” There was no need to tell him anything, the ‘on’ button had already been pressed, catching the few seconds

that changed the life of every person living in Sisak Moslavina county. Half of the town was completely destroyed. Construction material buried a couple of cars in the streets around us. The dust was up in the air for almost a minute. As it came down, we were able to process what was happening: we were at the epicentre of a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. People were calling out to each other and trying to phone their families.

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