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Costa Rica earthquake kills 13
Source: Agencies |
January 10, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
THE death toll from the strong earthquake that shook Costa Rica has risen to 13 after 10 more victims were found at a popular tourist destination near the epicenter of the quake, a Red Cross official said yesterday.
"There are 10 dead at the La Paz waterfall," Luis Guzman, a Red Cross spokesman told Reuters.
The waterfall is located on the flanks of the Poas volcano. About 300 tourists sought shelter for the night in a nearby valley after Thursday's earthquake, officials said.
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Costa Rica on Thursday, killing a teenager as well as two children selling candy near a national park, stranding hundreds of tourists and damaging buildings.
The quake triggered landslides in rural areas and tore apart a highway near the Poas national volcano park.
Two young sisters selling candy at the volcano were buried in a landslide and died, said Jorge Jimenez, a spokesman for the Red Cross. The teenage girl died when her home on the side of the volcano was engulfed by a landslide.
Several other people were reported to have been hurt in villages northwest of the capital San Jose.
"I was very frightened. First I got underneath an arch support and then, when it calmed down, I got out of the house," lawyer Michael Henreichs, 35, said in San Jose.
National Emergency Commission spokeswoman Rebeca Madrigal said there were fears some people in villages near the volcano park could be trapped in houses that collapsed during the quake.
Pieces of ceiling fell off homes in San Jose and television images showed buildings with shattered windows and damaged walls, but there were no reports of widespread injuries.
The tremor cut off power to parts of San Jose and some businesses evacuated employees.
The National Coffee Institute said it had no reports of major damage to the country's coffee farms.
Costa Rica is a popular tourist spot with lush natural parks, volcanoes and rich wildlife, but is prone, like the rest of Central America, to natural disasters.
"There are 10 dead at the La Paz waterfall," Luis Guzman, a Red Cross spokesman told Reuters.
The waterfall is located on the flanks of the Poas volcano. About 300 tourists sought shelter for the night in a nearby valley after Thursday's earthquake, officials said.
The 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Costa Rica on Thursday, killing a teenager as well as two children selling candy near a national park, stranding hundreds of tourists and damaging buildings.
The quake triggered landslides in rural areas and tore apart a highway near the Poas national volcano park.
Two young sisters selling candy at the volcano were buried in a landslide and died, said Jorge Jimenez, a spokesman for the Red Cross. The teenage girl died when her home on the side of the volcano was engulfed by a landslide.
Several other people were reported to have been hurt in villages northwest of the capital San Jose.
"I was very frightened. First I got underneath an arch support and then, when it calmed down, I got out of the house," lawyer Michael Henreichs, 35, said in San Jose.
National Emergency Commission spokeswoman Rebeca Madrigal said there were fears some people in villages near the volcano park could be trapped in houses that collapsed during the quake.
Pieces of ceiling fell off homes in San Jose and television images showed buildings with shattered windows and damaged walls, but there were no reports of widespread injuries.
The tremor cut off power to parts of San Jose and some businesses evacuated employees.
The National Coffee Institute said it had no reports of major damage to the country's coffee farms.
Costa Rica is a popular tourist spot with lush natural parks, volcanoes and rich wildlife, but is prone, like the rest of Central America, to natural disasters.
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