A magnitude 5.1 quake killed at least ten people in southern Spain on Wednesday, sending historic buildings crashing down as panicked residents fled for their lives.
Eight people perished in the deadliest tremor in Spain in more than five decades, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Murcia said, revising down an earlier toll of 10 dead without explanation.
The quake collapsed fronts of buildings in the southeastern town of Lorca and ripped open walls, which slumped into the streets.
Witnesses reported many injuries.
A church clocktower smashed to the ground and narrowly missed one television reporter as he conducted an interview in the town on Spanish public broadcaster TVE. A bronze bell lay in the rubble.
Fearful residents including families with children gathered outside with blankets as night fell. About 10,000 people were evacuated from the cordoned-off city-centre.
"We are calling on shopping centres in the area to give them water, food and blankets," Lorca mayor Francisco Jodar said.
Television images showed shocked families with children gathering in squares and playgrounds, some weeping and hugging as they sought safety. Masonry blanketed streets and a line of parked cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble. A corpse lay in the street covered in a rescue blanket.
The tremor struck at 6:47 pm (1647 GMT) with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) and could be felt as far away as the capital Madrid. It hit nearly two hours after a smaller 4.4-magnitude quake.
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