2 earthquakes in Spain kill at least 3, cause major damage

Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing at least three people and causing major damage to buildings, an official said.

The epicenter of the quakes — with magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.2 — was close to the town of Lorca, and the second came about two hours after the first, an official with the Murcia regional government said on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

Large chunks of stone and brick fell from the facade of a church in Lorca as Spanish state TV was broadcasting live from the scene. Nervous groups of residents gathered in public places, talking about what happened and calling relatives and friends on their cell phones.

The official said at least three people were killed.

John Bellini, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said the larger earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 and struck 220 miles (350 kilometers) south-southeast of Madrid.

The quake was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, and was preceded by the smaller one with a magnitude 4.5 in the same spot, Bellini said. He classified the bigger quake as moderate and said it could cause structural damage to older buildings and masonry.

The quakes occurred in a seismically active area near a large fault beneath the Mediterranean Sea where the European and African continents brush past each other, said USGS seismologist Julie Dutton.

The USGS said it has recorded hundreds of small quakes in the area since 1990.