Madrid, May 12 (AFP) A magnitude 5.2 quake killed at least 10 people in southern Spain today, toppling buildings into the streets and sending panicked residents fleeing.
Ten people perished, officials said, as the quake collapsed fronts of buildings in the southeastern town of Lorca and ripped huge gaps into walls, which slumped into the streets.
Witnesses reported many injuries.
A church clocktower crashed into the street and narrowly missed one television reporter as he conducted an interview in the town on Spanish public broadcaster TVE.
Television images showed shaken families and children gathering in squares and playgrounds in the town, some weeping and hugging as they sought safety. Masonry and rubble blanketed streets.
An apparently dead body lay in the street covered in a rescue blanket, television showed.