Drone captures Croatia quake destruction

The scale of a second earthquake to hit Croatia in two days shown through collapsed buildings and a rising death toll on Wednesday (December 30).

The most recent quake measured 6.4 and struck in central parts of the country a day earlier, leaving a total of at least seven people confirmed dead, including a 12-year-old girl.

Local media said a kindergarten in the area was also destroyed in the badly hit village of Petrinja, but that there were no children in it at the time.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has brought in the country’s military to support the rescue and aid efforts.

Locals are being helped to evacuate parts of of the village, because it’s been deemed too unsafe to remain there.

Pope Francis sent a message of hope to the Croatian people.

"I express my closeness to the wounded and to those who were hit by the earthquake and I pray in particular for those who lost their lives and for their families."

The quake was also felt in Zagreb, where people rushed onto the streets, including at one of the city’s main hospitals, leaving many patients sitting in chairs in the street, wrapped in blankets.

Dozens more are thought to be injured, with reports of buildings being shaken as far away as Slovenia and the Austrian capital of Vienna as several aftershocks continued to be felt.