Double earthquake kills ten in southern Spain
The epicentre was registered in a mountain range
close to the town of Lorca ( Tercia) Photo: EPA
Residents of southern Spain are surveying the damage after two earthquakes struck in quick succession, killing at least ten people and bringing down scores of buildings in the historic city of Lorca.
Eight people including one child perished in the deadliest tremors to hit Spain in more than five decades. Another 167 were injured including three in grave condition in hospital, health officials reported. The quake collapsed the fronts of buildings and ripped open walls. Streets were littered with crumbled buildings, chunks of masonry, fallen terraces and crumpled cars. A church clocktower tumbled and smashed into pieces, narrowly missing a television reporter as he conducted an interview on Spanish public broadcaster TVE. A bronze bell lay in the rubble.
About 10,000 people were evacuated from the cordoned-off city-centre. In an outdoor basketball court and children's playground, dozens of people spent the night on the ground wrapped in blankets.
BBC: Deadly earthquake rocks Lorca in southern Spain
CBC News: Spanish officials put earthquake death toll at 8