Newborn babies had to be evacuated from a maternity hospital after a strong earthquake rocked Croatia during a partial coronavirus lockdown.

The 5.3 magnitude tremor – the biggest to hit the capital Zagreb in 140 years – left at least 17 people injured and caused widespread damage to buildings. A 15-year-old girl was in a critical condition, according to authorities.

Power was cut as people ran out of their homes in terror and streets were left littered with debris as rooftops collapsed, including one of the spires on the iconic cathedral.

Video footage shows mothers dressed in nightgowns hugging their newborn babies in a freezing car park after they fled a damaged maternity ward. Staff moved incubators to a new location with the help of the army.

The quake forced people to ignore government warnings to avoid public spaces such as parks and squares to slow the spread of Covid-19.

“There are rules for when there is an earthquake, but when there is an earthquake at the same time as when there is a global pandemic, then it’s a much more complex situation,” said interior minister Davor Bozinovic.

However, officials urged the public to obey new regulations on maintaining a two-metre “social distance” from each other and restricting gatherings to five or less.

“Earthquakes are dangerous, but coronavirus is even more so,” said health minister Vili Beros. There have been 235 cases confirmed so far in Croatia.

Soldiers wearing masks and carrying shovels helped to clear the debris from the streets of Zagreb as officials assessed the damage.

Prime minister Andrej Plenkovic urged citizens to remain calm and stay outside their homes in the central parts of Zagreb, which sustained the most damage.

“We have two parallel crises that contradict each other,” he said after an emergency meeting of Croatia’s top officials. “We will try to clear the streets as soon as possible.

“Stay outside your homes and keep distance.”

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The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 6:23am local time (5:23am UK time), was four miles north of Zagreb at a depth of six miles, according to the European seismological agency EMSC.