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 05 July 2008 04:15 BST

38 killed in African quakes

Sunday, 03 Feb 2008 19:04
At least 38 people killed and hundreds injured after earthquakes struck Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
At least 38 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a series of earthquakes struck Rwanda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The two most powerful quakes struck hours apart in Africa's Great Lakes region, with the epicentre of the first in Democratic Republic of Congo measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale before a 5.0 earthquake occurred in southern Rwanda.

"The death toll (in Rwanda) has risen to 33 people and up to 400 are seriously injured," deputy Rwandan police chief Mary Gahonzire told the Reuters news agency.

She added that while rescue efforts were underway, the death toll could rise as many people are trapped.

The first quake occurred at around 09:30 local time (07:30 GMT), with the second hitting southern Rwanda at 13:56 (10:56 GMT).

Reports claim ten people were killed when a church collapsed in the Rusizi district, while five people have died in Bukavu in Democratic Republic of Congo.

"There is lots of damage. Many buildings have been hit. Lots of houses have completely collapsed," said Jacqueline Chenard, a spokeswoman for the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in Bukavu.

"We have never seen a quake like that here before. Part of my house is on the verge of falling into the lake [Kivu]."

Aftershocks are occurring regularly in the region, it has been reported.

Seismic activity is common in the region with the western Great Rift Valley fault line running across western Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.End of story


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