The number of fatalities reported in Spain following yesterday's 5.3 magnitude earthquake has been revised down to eight from an earlier report of 10.
The mayor of the southern town of Lorca, Francisco Jodar, told reporters as many as a third of the town's 90,000 residents spent the night outdoors as a result of the earthquake.
Three people, including the 12-year-old son of a bar owner out walking his dog, died after being hit by falling masonry.
A pregnant woman also died after quakes of 4.4 and 5.1 on the Richter scale within two hours of each other caused the collapse of a three-storey block of flats where she lived. Her son was pulled alive from the rubble.
The ruling Socialist party and the centre-right opposition Popular Party suspended campaign rallies throughout Spain for the May 22nd regional and local elections out of respect for the victims of the earthquake.
Masonry and rubble filled some streets in Lorca, which dates back to Roman times and also has some medieval structures. Many cars were crushed by the quake that struck at 6.46pm.
A military task force of 200 troops has been sent to the area to provide aid and cordon off dangerous buildings. Part of the front of a badly damaged church collapsed hours after the quake and other buildings are considered unstable.
Earthquakes causing extensive damage and fatalities are rare in Spain although the south of the country has extensive faultlines. The US Geological Survey registered one dead in a 1997 earthquake.
In 1969, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed 19 people in the southern town of Huelva, according to Spain's National Geographic Institute.
Reuters