A search for survivors in Croatia stretched into the night Tuesday after a powerful earthquake killed at least seven people in the country’s interior, tearing down rooftops and piling bricks in the streets.

The 6.4-magnitude quake was felt as far afield as Vienna but the heavy damage was concentrated in and around Petrinja, a town of around 20,000 some 50 kilometres south of Croatia’s capital Zagreb.

Rescue teams shovelled away debris in search of victims as night fell after the mid-day tremor, while the European Union announced that more help was on its way.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said late Tuesday that seven victims had been found so far and that there would “probably be more”.

Among the dead was a young girl in Petrinja, reported to be 12 years old, and at least five people in a nearby village, according to Croatian police, who said that around 20 people were injured.

Six people were rescued from the rubble with the help of dogs, Croatia’s Mountain Rescue Service said.