A deadly rain of rubble

Death rained from the sky in the form of falling rubble after two back-to-back earthquakes rocked the southeastern town of Lorca (Murcia) on Wednesday. The earth moved, buildings collapsed and cornices cracked and plummeted to the street, plunging residents into the worst nightmare they had ever experienced.

The victims of the Lorca earthquake died standing on the sidewalks, crushed by the falling debris as buildings swayed for several seconds. Four women (including one who was eight months pregnant), four men and a child perished in the most devastating tremor registered in Spain in several decades, if not the highest on the Richter scale (it measured 5.2).

The outer neighborhoods of San Diego and San Cristóbal registered over half of the deaths caused by the quakes. The relatively new district of La Viña, south of the city, chalked up three other fatalities.

Antonia Sánchez Gallego, Juana López Canales, Emilia Moreno Moreno, Pedro José Rubio Corbalán, Juan Salinas Navarro, Domingo García Urrea, Rafael Mateos Rodríguez, María Dolores Montiel Sánchez and 13-year-old Raúl Guerrero Molina are the names of the people who lost their lives in the disaster. These are some of their stories.

Rafael Mateos Rodríguez, 50, a businessman and sports fan. Around seven in the evening on Wednesday, Mateos was standing outside his shoe store at the crossroads between Calle Puente de Gimeno and Calle de los Voluntarios, in the area of San Cristóbal. At the time of the tremors, he was chatting with a retired friend and a young biker who was taking a break from his cycling expedition around town. Suddenly, rubble from the terrace of the four-story building dropped down and struck all three, killing them instantly. "He was a great businessman and sportsman, and especially fond of soccer and biking," said a neighbor. Mateos, who also sold his wares at several street markets held in the region, leaves behind a wife and twin children.

Juana Canales, around 50. She was stepping out of a hairdressing salon on Calle de Galicia when falling debris from a nearby building killed her outright. "She was a real fighter, and always worked in the hospitality industry, beginning with a restaurant just outside of Lorca," said a neighbor. "Lately she had been running a wine store with her husband in the city center." Juana leaves behind two sons in their thirties, both of whom have physical disabilities.

A falling cornice killed Raúl Guerrero, who was only 13. He was just 200 meters from the spot where a woman was buried by rubble but managed to save her two small children. The boy was standing outside the door of a bar called La Viña, on the road to Granada, when the building's cornice collapsed and fell squarely on him. He died instantly in the presence of his mother and paternal grandfather, Ginés. Raúl was known in the neighborhood as "the cigar guy's grandson," in reference to his grandfather's love of cigars. "He was fantastic, a good student and had a natural talent for sports; he really liked soccer and swimming," said his teary-eyed grandfather. "He was a normal boy, like any other boy his age."

Emilia Moreno, 22, was eight months pregnant and the mother of a small child. She was standing at the foot of Lorca's castle when the earthquakes hit; the wall collapsed on top of her back and buried her. Emilia lived with her partner Herminio in her mother-in-law's house. "She was very lively and very pretty," said a neighbor.