Major quake crushes buildings in Vanuatu capital, bodies seen

The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles), some 30 kilometres off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu's main island, at 12:47 pm (0147 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey. A 5.5-magnitude aftershock struck minutes after the main quake, followed by a series of lesser tremors over the following hours. The ground floor of a four-storey block in Port Vila used by the US, French and other embassies was completely flattened, AFP photos showed. "There's people in the buildings in town.