Mum begs to die in arms of dead daughter after 6.4-magnitude earthquake

A heartbroken mother has pleaded with rescuers to let her die in the arms of her dead daughter after a catastrophic earthquake.

Diena Mecaj begged rescuers to let her die in her dead nine-year-old daughter’s arms in rubble of a building following an earthquake. Picture: CEN/australscope

A devastated mum has pleaded with rescuers to just “leave me to die” in the arms of her dead daughter after she was found among rubble following an earthquake.

Diena Mecaj Karanxhaj, 30, was found trapped in the remnants of her family home in Durras, Albania, after the devastating earthquake yesterday, The Sun reports.

Ms Karanxhaj pleaded with rescuers to leave her to die as she cradled the body of her nine-year-old daughter, Esiel, who had been killed in the 6.4-magnitude quake.

Diena Mecaj Karanxhaj, 30, with her nine-year-old daughter Esiel, who died in rubble after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Albania. Picture: CEN/australscope

“Don’t take me out, I want to die in my daughter’s arms,” a heartbroken Ms Karanxhaj said.

Esiel had been killed 12 hours before rescuers found her mother.

The mother later died on the way to hospital from a haemorrhage.

Eisel’s dad is reported to have died in 2015 from a heart attack.

A friend posted a tribute to the family on Instagram, writing: “I never thought I could shed tears of pain like today for the beautiful Diena and Esiel.”

The death toll from the earthquake that caused carnage close to Alabnia’s capital, Tirana, and nearby Sarajevo has now hit 30.

One of those confirmed dead was an elderly woman who selflessly protected her young grandson by cradling him close to her body.

The heartbroken mother begged rescuers to let her die in the arms of her daughter. Diena’s partner reportedly died in 2015 from a heart attack. Picture: CEN/australscope

An estimated 500 homes across the country were destroyed, with apartment blocks crumbling to dust in many places.

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that more than 750 people were injured in the 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck before dawn Tuesday and has been followed by hundreds of aftershocks, including several with magnitudes of above 5.0, which have complicated rescue efforts, AP reported.

Italian rescuers search for survivors through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Albania. Picture: Gent Shkullaku/AFP

Rescue teams and firefighters carry a victim found under the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Durres, western Albania. Picture: Armend Nimani/AFP

Emergency workers continued to pull bodies from the ruins of buildings gutted by a violent earthquake. Picture: Gent Shkullaku/AFP

Shocking photos from the scene show piles of bricks, boilers, pipes, tiles and other household items with more shocking images showing the exposed interior of destroyed apartments.

Many were and still could be trapped among the carnage as teams from Italy, Greece and Romania painstakingly pick through rubble — with 43 rescued yesterday.

Terrified residents were spotted fleeing the crumbling buildings as the quake hit, many cradling babies.

Tirana declared a state of emergency in the areas hardest hit by the pre-dawn earthquake. Picture: Armend Nimani/AFP

The Defence Ministry confirmed it was the most powerful quake in Albania in the past 30 years.

The images of collapsed or semi-collapsed buildings in urban areas suggested Tuesday’s quake was more powerful than one in 1979, which razed a neighbourhood of the northern town of Shkoder, bordering Montenegro.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission