RESCUE workers scrabbled at mounds of rubble yesterday to find survivors of an earthquake in the Algerian capital and nearby towns that killed more than 1,000 people and injured more than 6,000.

IT WAS a scene from hell - after a massive quake tore through the earth, the desperate cries of women mingled with the harsh wail of ambulance sirens.

It was a scene from hell: after a massive quake tore through the earth, the desperate cries of women mingled with the harsh wail of ambulance sirens. Blocks of buildings lay in ruins.

More than 500 people have died and around 4,600 were injured in the massive Algerian earthquake that shook the area near the capital.

Up to 500 people are now feared dead after a strong earthquake hit Algeria. There are reports that 1,672 people were injured in the quake.