At least 10 people were killed and dozens more injured when two successive earthquakes hit southeast Spain on Wednesday. The quake also damaged buildings and destroyed vehicles, in what officials described as one of the strongest quakes to hit the country in 50 years and inflicting the highest number of deaths.

Government seismologists say the quakes' epicenters - with magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.2 - was close to the town of Lorca and occurred almost two hours apart. The quake was felt as far as the capital, officials said.

Local hospitals were overwhelmed with the number of injured and were forced to set up field hospital. In Lorca, 270 patients at a local hospital were evacuated as a precautionary measure after the building sustained minor damage, according to the Murcia regional government.

The office of the Spanish prime minister officially put the number of deaths to 10, including a minor.

Television footage showed people apparently shaken from the quake weeping on the streets. The King and the Prime Minister offered their condolences to those affected.

One local reporter almost got himself seriously hurt when large chunks of stone and brick fell from the facade of a church in Lorca while he was reporting from the scene. The church's bell also fell from the tower which narrowly missed the reporter who was estimated to be just 30 feet away from where the rubbles have fallen.

The shaken reporter said that had the accident happened 10 minutes later, a "tragedy" could have occurred as schoolchildren usually gather at that spot during that time.

Footages also show of damaged cars while some crashed by falling debris, and large cracks in buildings.

Affected residents have gathered in open public places while looking for missing relatives or friends.

"I felt a tremendously strong movement, followed by a lot of noise, and I was really frightened," the newspaper El Pais quoted another Lorca resident Juani Avellanada as saying. It did not give her age.

The newspaper added that one resident reported that her house split open due to the quake which destroyed most of her furniture.

The quakes were the deadliest to hit Spain since 1956, when 12 people were killed and another 70 were injured in a quake in the southern Granada region. According to the National Geographic Institute, Spain is hit by an average 2,500 quakes per year, but only a handful are actually noticed by people. Spain's south and southeast are the most earthquake-prone regions.