Earthquakes hit Spain, 10 killed

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.

Listen to report by Kelsea Brennan-Wessels: