Some reports said that the rare earthquake, which was 5.3 magnitude, sent tremors through the region of Murcia and had affected a nursing home and the tower of an important church in the town which is dependent on farming.
"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."
A Murcia government spokesman said on the radio that six people had been killed in the earthquake.
The quake hit at 6:47 p.m., according to data from Spain`s National Geographical Institute. The U.S Geological Survey said the epicentre was 1 km below the ground.
Lorca, which has a population of about 90,000 people, dates back to the Bronze Age and probably gained its name from the Romans. The old part of the town is made up of a network of narrow alleyways. (M014/K004)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
