New York: Rescuers in Albania dug have through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of survivors, after a 6.4-magnitude predawn earthquake struck the Balkan nation on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people and injuring 650.

Using everything from earth-moving equipment to their bare hands, local residents and emergency crews in cities across the country had pulled 45 people alive from under mounds of debris by the evening, the government said. Thirty people were hospitalised.

Rescuers search a damaged building after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Thumane, western Albania. Credit:AP

The deadly quake, at only 10 kilometres in depth, was the strongest to hit Albania in decades, in a region known for its devastating tremors, and came just two months after the country was struck by another strong quake that damaged hundreds of homes. Across the country, buildings crumbled, fallen facades left structures ripped open to the elements, and many others had ominous cracks snaking across their walls.

In Durres, a hard-hit coastal city, the seven-storey Vila Palma hotel collapsed, crushing cars parked underneath, but there was no immediate word on casualties. Many buildings on the outskirts of the city were also destroyed, raining concrete and bricks onto streets, vehicles and gardens.