Ten Killed As Earthquake Hits Spanish Town

A rare earthquake has rocked the ancient town of Lorca in southeastern Spain causing homes to collapse, damaging historic churches and killing at least 10 people.

The 5.2 magnitude earthquake sent tremors through the popular tourist region of Murcia.

Part of the front of a badly damaged church in the small town collapsed hours after the quake, narrowly missing a television journalist reporting live from the scene.

"The population is scared and are very afraid to return to their homes," Rafael Gonzalez Tovar, from the central government in Murcia Rafael, said.

""There are thousands of very disorientated people. There are thousands of very disorientated people."

Television images showed shaken families and children gathering in a square in the town, seeking safety from collapsed buildings. Masonry and rubble were strewn across the streets.

"We were just sat here and everything began to move, pictures fell from the wall, the TV fell and (the quake) went on for ages. We looked out of the window and there were a lot of people running, an ambulance and the police," one woman told national radio.

The earthquake struck at 6:47 pm local time, according to Spain's National Geographical Institute data.

View Lorca, Spain in a larger map

British ex pat Martin Sayer told: "I felt a bit of a rumble at about 3pm then about two hours later there was a much bigger one.

"My house is about 9km away from Lorca and the house shook."

He added that the quake occurred during siesta time, and that the effects could have been much worse had the streets been busier.

Another ex pat, Michael Harris, who lives around 35 miles from the epicentre, said: "There was a rumbling like a train was going underneath us and we did not realise what it was at first.

"We thought it might have been caused by the air force who were doing trials flying past."

Many buildings have been damaged and some have collapsed

He added that by the second quake he was cleaning his swimming pool - and that the force of the quake caused the water to splash out.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was about half a mile below ground.

A milder quake of 4.5 magnitude had hit the town, which is dependent on farming, shortly beforehand.

The last fatal earthquake to hit Spain was in 1997, when one person was killed, according to the USGS.

Many residents had to sleep outside after their homes were damaged

Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba is to visit the town later to examine the damage.

The government mobilised a military task force of 200 servicemen and women to help secure the area, where an estimated 10,000 people have been affected by the quake.

Lorca, which has a population of about 90,000 people, dates back to the Bronze Age and probably gained its name from the Romans. The old part of the town is made up of a network of narrow alleyways.

Lorca is built in the shadow of a fortress. Its many architectural features include a Roman military column, the Church of San Francisco and medieval walls and gates of San Antonio.