The operation to find survivors and recover bodies from Albania's earthquake that killed 51 people was ended on Saturday. The country's health minister Ogerta Manastirliu said about 2,000 people were injured in Tuesday's 6.4-magnitude pre-dawn quake.

The quake centred 30 kilometers (21 miles) west of the capital Tirana. It was felt across the Balkans and in the southern Italian region of Puglia, on the other side of the Adriatic Sea from Albania.

Tirana has declared a 30 day state of emergency in the cities hardest hit by the earthquake at 3:00 GMT on 26 November. 

The most seriously affected areas were Durres, 33 kilometres (20 miles) west of the capital, Tirana, and the nearby town of Thumane. The search operation in Thumane, whose mosque was so badly damaged that believers prayed outside, ended on Wednesday. 

In Durres, the bodies of a young mother and her three children were found on the same bed. They were killed after their house collapsed on them. 

There are also several thousand people currently sleeping in tents in a football stadium in Durres and other camps in Thumane. 

Prime Minister Edi Rama said during a visit to Durres: "We cannot spend the winter under open skies or in tents." He added that the government will soon move these people into hotels. 

Many residents are afraid to return to their homes because of the hundreds of aftershocks that have been felt in Albania since the original earthquake. 

Stavros Arnaoutakis, the regional governor of Crete, said: "It was a major earthquake, the whole island shook but fortunately so far no damage has been reported."

Albanian rescue efforts were aided by more than 200 experts from across Europe, including Greece, Romania, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia, France and Italy, in addition to around 300 Albanian soldiers and 1,900 local police officers.

Rescue workers used dogs and drones to recover the bodies and people trapped under rubble. Rescue efforts stopped in Thumanë after Albania's defense ministry said that there were no more survivors trapped in the rubble. 

This earthquake was the strongest felt in the country for the past 20 to 30 years and the worst in Durres since 1926. The country has also declared a day of mourning. Festivals that were originally planned to celebrate Albania's Independence Day on 28 November were cancelled.

In a wave of solidarity, Albanians have been donating food and clothing in city centres. The GoFundMe crowdfunding platform said that, as of Friday, $3.2 million had been raised worldwide to help survivors of the disaster. 

Earthquakes are common in the Balkans because the region lies on two large tectonic plates.