Crown prince and princess try to comfort relatives of Lorca earthquake victims, and PM pledges to help city rebuild
Spain's prime minister and the crown prince and princess have attended a crowded funeral mass for victims of Spain's deadliest earthquakes in more than 50 years.
Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia hugged and shook hands with relatives of the nine people killed in Wednesday's twin tremors in Lorca. At one point the prince stooped down to speak to a boy and affectionately ruffled his hair.
The prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, earlier toured the city to see the widespread damage that forced an estimated 3,000 people to spend another night sleeping in tents in makeshift camps.
He said the government would help the city rebuild and return to normal as soon as possible. "It is my conviction that we are going to meet this test. The earthquake was hard and strong. But this country is stronger. Its desire for solidarity and reconstruction are stronger."
The Spanish cabinet approved an emergency aid programme for people who lost their homes or businesses. The plan includes money for people to rent elsewhere while their homes are repaired or rebuilt, and €25m (£30m) in credit lines for people to repair their places of business, farms, factories or vehicles.
There were four coffins at the funeral mass, in part because some of the families of the deceased wanted private funerals, officials said.
Lorca's mayor said on Thursday that more than half of the 550 buildings inspected so far by engineers and architects were uninhabitable.