COSTA RICA

Quake death toll climbing

01-10-2009 | AP

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake near the capital has killed 14 and 22 people are missing as tourists are trapped at luxury resort

Panama Star SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA. The death toll from a strong earthquake that rocked Costa Rica has risen to 14 with at least 22 people still missing, the Red Cross said Friday.

The magnitude-6.1 quake shook the Central American nation Thursday afternoon, collapsing homes, setting off landslides that blocked major highways and trapping hundreds of people including foreign tourists in damaged mountain towns.

Thousands of people ran from homes and shopping centers, frightened by the quake. In the capital, women kneeled to pray in plazas. Others cried.

Red Cross spokesman Freddy Roman said the dead include 7- and 11-year-old sisters buried in a landslide and a woman who suffered a heart attack in the capital, San Jose.

He said more than 1,200 people were still trapped in the hardest hit zone — a mountainous area with few access roads, most of which were blocked by landslides.

"We are trying to evacuate these areas as soon as possible," Roman said.

Many residents of the area are small farmers who raise livestock or grow strawberries and ornamental plants. The region has also seen increased tourism in recent years.

Allan Flores, head of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, told Channel 7 that about 200 Costa Rican and foreign tourists were trapped at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens hotel, a luxury eco-resort in Vara Blanca.

"There are no reports of injured tourists," Flores said. "They are all fine, and we are trying to help them. The priority is getting them out of there and bringing them to San Jose."

Local media reported that the resort suffered severe damage in the quake and visitors had to sleep outside.

When a helicopter from Channel 7 news flew over the hotel, a woman shouted in English: "We want to get out of this place! We want to get out!"

Phone calls to the resort went unanswered Friday.

There were also reports of cars being buried by landslides and widespread destruction in the remote town of Cinchona.

Resident Manuel Cambronero told Channel 7 by phone that Cinchona was destroyed.

"The only thing left is the field where we plant strawberries," he said. "It gives me chills just remembering it, because the mountains moved and all the homes collapsed on the ground."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of San Jose, near the Poas Volcano National Park.