El Salvador quake claims 173 lives

At least 173 people have died following the earthquake that destroyed hundreds of buildings in El Salvador.

More than 1,500 have been injured in the provinces of San Vicente, La Paz and Cuscatlan.

The country is still in mourning after last month's earthquake which killed hundreds of people.

During a helicopter tour of the area, President Francisco Flores said: "It is true that this is another blow for El Salvador, but I call for tranquillity. We have to be calm".

Regional army commander, Col Juan Armando Reyes, commented: "Fifty per cent of the houses in San Vicente are damaged, and 90% of the houses in (the nearby towns of) San Cayetano, Guadalupe, Verapaz and Texistepeque are damaged".

The quake compounded the misery of a nation still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the 7.6-magnitude quake on January 13 which officials say killed 844, injured 4,723 and destroyed 278,000 houses. Hundreds more remain missing and are believed dead.

The US Geological Survey measured the new quake at magnitude 6.6 and said it was centred near the mid-point between San Vicente and the capital, San Salvador.

It was felt strongly because it was a shallow quake, centred below land rather than the sea.

It also devastated the area around San Vicente, which had been less seriously damaged in the earlier quake.