Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain on Wednesday evening, killing at least 10 people,
injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings. The 4.4 and 5.2 magnitude quakes
sent tremors through the he popular tourist region of Murcia, centring on the town
of Lorca.
Television images showed shaken families and children gathering in
a square in the town, seeking safety from fallen buildings as masonry and rubble blanketed
the streets.
Dozens of injured people were treated at the scene and a field
hospital was set up in the town of about 85,000 people. About 270 patients at a hospital
in Lorca were evacuated by ambulance as a precaution after the building sustained
minor damage.
The government has 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.
The last fatal earthquake to hit Spain was in 1997, when one
person was killed.