Double quakes topple buildings in Spain- 7 dead

May 11, 2011- LORCA, Spain – Seven people were killed Wednesday when an earthquake struck southeastern Spain, the delegate of the government in Murcia told National Spanish Radio and CNN. The clock tower in Lorca has collapsed and several of the older buildings in the town centre have also crumbled. The earthquake was felt across the Murcia region, including Cartagena, Aguilas, Murcia, Mazarrón, Albacete and Almería. Tremors were felt as far away as Madrid. Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has deployed emergency military units to the scene, the Spanish EFE news agency reported. Eyewitnesses that the tower of the church of Santiago was split in half. “Unfortunately, we can confirm … deaths due to cave-ins and falling debris,” the mayor of Lorca, Francisco Jodar, told radio station Ser. “We’re trying to find out if there are people inside the collapsed houses.” The quake was registered at 6:47 pm (1647 GMT), following a smaller 4.4-magnitude quake at 5:05 pm (1505 GMT). Spanish television showed rescue workers rushing through debris-littered streets. Thousands of residents of Lorca are in the streets, not knowing what to do. The hospital, Rafael Méndez, has been evacuated because of the risk of landslides, raising fears over how the injured will be treated. Lorca has apopulation of around 91,000 people. Many British expatriates have homes in the Murcia region, which is close to the Costa Blanca. –UK Telegraph