- TIRANA, Albania: Police say five Albanians have died in two separate incidents while taking iron and chalk to sell.
An old building collapsed in a village in Gramsh district, in central Albania, killing three people who were trying to remove iron bars to sell for scrap.
At about the same time, a massive rock fell on two people in a village in the southeastern Erseka district. They were cutting chalk for use in construction.
Police reports Saturday said both incidents occurred late evening on Friday.
Many among Albania’s 3.2-million population, one of the poorest in Europe, are forced to resort to stealing materials to sell on the black market, often working in unsafe conditions.

