Death toll in Costa Rica quake rises to 13

San Jose: The death toll from a strong earthquake which struck Costa Rica rose to 13 on Friday with officials fearing more bodies would be recovered from the rubble of a major landslide near a popular tourist site.

Ten victims were buried when Thursday's quake triggered a landslide at the scenic La Paz waterfall on the flanks of the Poas Volcano, Red Cross spokesman Luis Guzman said. It was not clear if the dead included foreigners.

Some 300 stranded tourists and 100 or so Costa Ricans had to spend the night in the valley after the quake tore apart a road leading down to the waterfall. Rescue helicopters began ferrying them back to San Jose on Friday morning.

The quake, measuring 6.1on the Richter scale, devastated the Poas Volcano national park north of the capital San Jose, setting off landslides and damaging roads around the epicenter.

Costa Rica is a popular tourist destination due to its lush natural parks, volcanoes and rich wildlife, but is prone like the rest of Central America to natural disasters.