Fatal tremor

Thousands of people were forced to spend the night outdoors after southern Spain was struck by two earthquakes that left at least nine people dead.

A further 167 people were reported injured in the tremors on Wednesday, which toppled several buildings and left many homes vulnerable to collapse.

The largest tremor, with a magnitude of 5.2, hit the town of Lorca at 6:47 p.m. local time, 40 minutes after an earlier shock that measured 4.5.

Authorities cordoned off the center of the town and about 10,000 people were unable to return to their homes, many being forced to spend the night in car parks, public squares and playgrounds.

The Red Cross set up more than 800 foldable beds on the edge of the town, distributing thousands of blankets as well as food and water.

The tremors were the deadliest to have hit Spain since April 1956, when an earthquake killed 11 people in the Andalusian town of Albolote.

"Unfortunately, we can confirm ... deaths due to cave-ins and falling debris," the mayor of Lorca, Francisco Jodar, told radio station Ser on Wednesday evening. "We're trying to find out if there are people inside the collapsed houses."

Unexpected power of quake

The clock tower of the main church in Lorca collapsed, narrowly missing a television journalist as he reported from the town, which has a population of around 90,000.

"We know we live near a fault line but we never thought this would happen to us," one witness told the AFP news agency. "No one expected such a strong earthquake here," said another.

Emergency teams were sent to the affected areas and were combing damaged buildings for victims. The government in Madrid said it had sent 350 soldiers to assist in the operation as well as some 200 members of the Guardia Civil police force.

In light of the disaster, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and opposition leader Mariano Rajoy both agreed to suspend campaigning for municipal elections.

Author: Darren Mara, Richard Connor (AFP, AP, dpa)
Editor: Nancy Isenson