ZAGREB, October 31, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Saturday extended his condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis following a devastating earthquake which rocked their countries on Friday, the government said in a press release.

In his notes, Plenkovic said he "received the news of the devastating earthquake with great sadness," extending his condolences to the high officials and the two peoples.

He said that Croatia was willing to offer Turkey and Greece all the necessary help based on its experience with the Zagreb earthquake in March.

"In these challenging times, in line with the proven friendship and cooperation between our two countries, you can count on Croatia's strong support," Plenkovic said in his note to Erdogan.

"We know very well how important support is in these horrible circumstances, and in Croatia you have a true friend," he wrote to Mitsotakis.

The number of fatalities of the quake which struck near Izmir in western Turkey has risen to 27, the Turkish state news agency said today.

ZAGREB, October 30, 2020 - There are no Croatian nationals among the victims of the earthquake that struck Greece and Turkey on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign and European affairs said.

A magnitude 7 earthquake hit the Aegean Sea south of the city of Izmir on the west coast of Turkey at 11:50 local time.

The Turkish emergency management authority said that at least six people were killed and 202 were injured.

At the moment, there is no official information that any Croatian national has been killed in the earthquake that struck Greece and Turkey, it was said in the ministry's press release.

The embassies in Athens and Ankara, as well as the consular office in Istanbul, are monitoring the situation and are available to Croatian nationals for all necessary assistance, it was added.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman extended his condolences to his Greek and Turkish counterparts, Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also expressed his solidarity with Turkey and Greece.

"We deeply regret the tragic loss of life and the damage sustained and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Croatia is available to provide assistance," he said on Twitter.

According to Turkish sources, the earthquake measured 6.6 on the Richter scale, and according to American sources it measured 7.

The epicentre was in the Aegean Sea, and the earthquake was felt in Greece and Turkey, where several buildings collapsed.

A tsunami warning was issued on the Greek island of Samos following the earthquake.