New tremor terrifies quake-hit Algeria

A fresh tremor struck Algeria yesterday, terrifying a country still recovering from an earthquake that killed 2,200 people last week and an aftershock on Tuesday believed to have buried several people alive.

Huge piles of rubble and twisted metal were all that remained of a 15-storey building in the eastern coastal town of Reghaia, where rescue workers said three men were believed trapped on Tuesday as they tried to recover personal belongings.

"We don't expect to find anyone alive. We're now clearing away debris to be able to give back the bodies to the families so they can have a decent burial," a dust-covered French rescue worker told Reuters at the scene as he sipped some water.

Authorities said there were no injuries or damage from the latest tremor - measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale - but fear and panic spread throughout Algeria, compounded by the aftershock during Tuesday's evening rush hour which injured 450.

Kamel Kabache, 28, evacuated from the now-collapsed building in Reghaia after the first quake last week, said one of the trapped men, Tokal Hacen, had been a father figure among locals.

"He bought bread for everyone and took care of everyone. Now he's dead," Kabache said as he watched bulldozers and cranes shift the rubble in temperatures above 30°C.

Rescue workers said two people were rescued overnight from the building in the poor town 40 kilometres from Algiers.

The latest official toll from last week's quake was 2,218 dead and 9,497 injured with hundreds still unaccounted for. There were no reports of disruption to Algeria's oil sector.

Up to 100,000 people are sleeping outdoors in the capital and in the quake-hit region for fear of more tremours, according to Algeria's Red Crescent. UN personnel teamed up with foreign and Algerian rescue workers to look for survivors and treat the wounded and aid continued to flow in, although some teams left.

Measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, last week's quake was the deadliest in the oil-rich Muslim North African country since one in 1980 killed 3,000 people. The epicentre was near Zemmouri, some 50 kilometres east of Algiers. "With all the aftershocks people are scared. People still sleep outside even if they have a home and no one knows when this will end," said Kabache, who has witnessed several quakes.

Authorities urged the 32 million-strong population to be calm and avoid unsafe buildings. An official from Algeria's Geophysical, Astronomical and Astrophysics Research Centre said there had been about 1,000 aftershocks and more were expected.

Many Algerians in affected towns have accused the government of doing little to help the homeless and of turning a blind eye to corner-cutting by unscrupulous builders in quake-prone areas.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, expected to seek re-election next year, ordered an inquiry into why buildings collapsed.

In Algiers' poor Bab el Oued district, families huddled together in a park. "We're condemned. First one quake, then another, then another," said Fatima, a student. "It never ends."