Strong quake rocks Philippines, one dead

  
MANILA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - An earthquake jolted the main Philippine island of 
Luzon, including the country's capital, Manila, early on Sunday and officials 
said one person died of heart attack and several were injured. 

A number of buildings in Manila suffered minor damage, including cracks and 
shattered glass panels, police said. 

The tremor struck at 2:03 a.m. (1803 GMT Saturday) and registered a magnitude 
of 6.8 on the open-ended Richter scale, the Philippine Institute of 
Vulcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. A preliminary Phivolcs statement 
had reported the magnitude at 5.7. 

``We should expect after-shocks,'' Phivolcs chief Raymundo Punongbayan said 
in a radio broadcast. 

The lone casualty was a patient at a Manila hospital who died of heart attack 
at the height of tremor, hospital staff said. 

Several people were injured by falling objects or as they stampeded out of 
their houses, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said. One man was hit by a crane 
which fell from the upper floors of a building under construction. 

The quake knocked out power in parts of Manila and in several provinces of 
Luzon, the country's largest island with a population of about 40 million, 
about two-thirds of the national total, officials said. 

The quake was centred off the coast of Pangasinan province, about 180 km (112 
miles) north of Manila, Phivolcs said. 

Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado said there were no reports of buildings 
collapsing and that damage was likely to be limited to old and poorly built 
structures. He said authorities were working to restore power supplies. 

``I think people can go back to sleep,'' Mercado said. 

The earthquake-prone country was last hit by a major tremor in 1990 when a 
shock of 7.8 on the Richter scale toppled dozens of buildings in Luzon, 
killing more than 1,600 people. 

Sunday's quake occurred a day after Luzon was hit by a massive power blackout 
after a power plant tripped. 

The plant, located in a coastal town, malfunctioned after large quantities of 
jellyfish were sucked into its structure, causing obstructions to the system, 
officials said. 

15:44 12-11-99

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