16 Die in quake.

Searchers found more bodies in a restaurant buried under fallen earth, bringing the death toll to 16 as helicopters ferried residents and tourists out of a quake-stricken region in Costa Rica, the Red Cross said, reports AP (Jan. 10, 2009). The 6.1-magnitude earthquake caused a hillside to collapse near the town of Vara Blanca de Alajuela, damaging 6 miles of road and sending rocks and earth tumbling down on passing cars. Many of the dead were trapped inside vehicles, while others were found inside a small restaurant. The National Emergency Committee said helicopters had flown at least 250 people, including tourists, the wounded and the elderly, out of the region--a mountainous area with few access roads, most of which were blocked by landslides. The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 22 miles northwest of San Jose, near the Poas Volcano National Park.