Haiti quake kills at least 11, injures others

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti— A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in northern Haiti has killed at least 11 people and injured others.

The government reported seven deaths in the Nord-Ouest province and four other deaths in the community of Gros-Morne in the province of Artibonite, the newspaper Le Nouvelliste quoted Secretary of State for Communications Eddy Jackson Alexis as saying.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 8:11 p.m. Saturday night (001 GMT) and was centered 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of Port-de-Paix, which is about 136 miles (219 kilometers) from the capital of Port-au-Prince. The quake was 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometers) below the surface.

The country's civil protection agency issued a statement saying several people were injured and some houses were destroyed in Port-de-Paix, Gros Morne, Chansolme and Turtle Island. Among the structures damaged was the Saint-Michel church in Plaisance.

The civil protection agency did not officially confirm the number of fatalities.

In 2010, a vastly larger magnitude 7.1 quake damaged much of the capital and killed an estimated 300,000 people.

AP