Lorca locals sleep on the streets after quake
An earthquake has rocked a small town in Spain, badly damaging its ancient church.
Eight people died while two more have been left in a critical condition after the 5.3 magnitude tremor shock the tourist town of Lorca.
Many of the dead and injured were crushed in cars or by falling debris. The whole of the centre of the town was affected. Shocked residents and workers rushed out of buildings and gathered in squares, parks and open spaces.
Earlier, a milder quake of 4.4 had hit the town.
Lorca, in the region of Murcia, is Spain’s most seismically active area being close to a large fault line beneath the Mediterranean Sea.
As night fell many people were still too afraid to return to their homes and prepared for a long night sleeping in the streets in case of after shocks. Experts say the quake was the most serious to hit Spain in about 50 years.