Grieving Spain mourns Lorca earthquake victims
The earthquake-stricken town of Lorca, Spain, has held a funeral Mass for four victims of Wednesday's disaster.
Nine people were killed when a magnitude-5.1 quake struck the town, just two hours after one measuring 4.4.
Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia attended the Mass, held in a large hangar-like structure.
Thousands of buildings in the historic town have been damaged or destroyed and many residents have left.
Some have gone to stay with friends and family in other areas, because their homes are unsafe or they fear aftershocks.
Troops and emergency workers have put up hundreds of tents for about 3,000 homeless people still in Lorca.
As the funeral Mass began, Crown Prince Felipe and his wife consoled grieving mourners seated in front of four wooden coffins.
Hundreds of people attended the service. Funerals for other victims were being held elsewhere in Lorca.
'Solidarity and reconstruction'
Earlier, Mr Zapatero toured the worst affected area of the town.
"It is my conviction that we are going to meet this test," he said.
"The earthquake was hard and strong. But this country is stronger. Its desire for solidarity and reconstruction are stronger."
Almost every building in the town of about 93,000 residents has been damaged, says our correspondent.
Inspection teams are going house to house assessing the damage before declaring which buildings are safe to return to. Some are so badly damaged that they will have to be demolished.
On Thursday some residents were briefly allowed back into their homes to salvage what belongings they could from the rubble. Spanish TV pictures showed many in tears.
Shops, restaurants and schools have been closed and a stream of cars has left the town, which is in the Murcia region of southern Spain.
Bulldozers have been clearing streets of rubble and crushed cars. Many ancient buildings were among those badly damaged.
A large number of the residents left behind are immigrant labourers who have nowhere else to go.
The Spanish government has deployed about 800 personnel to the town, including emergency units, troops and police, Mr Zapatero said.
Seismologists say they expect smaller aftershocks in the area, which lies close to the geological fault line separating Europe and Africa.
The quakes were shallow and caused significant damage despite being relatively low in magnitude. The region's sandy soil also made the impact worse.
Many of the town's buildings may have had pre-existing structural problems, said Luis Suarez, head of Spain's College of Geologists.
The quake was the deadliest tremor to hit Spain since 1956 when an earthquake killed 11 people in Albolote, Granada.
BBC News
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