Police find more explosives in Basque Country

MADRID, Jan 5 (Reuters) Police found two more stashes of explosives in the Basque Country today as rescue workers tried to recover the body of a second man killed by a huge ETA car bomb at Madrid airport last Saturday.

The bombing shattered a nine-month Basque peace process, and the discovery of more explosives has Spain worried that ETA could strike again.

Police in the northern Basque region, which ETA wants to be independent, found two packets of explosives weighing a total of 80 kg (176 lb) in the town of Atxondo. Yesterday, they found 100 kg (220 lb) of explosives ready for use.

''We also found ... various manuals that are typically used by the terrorist group ETA to make explosive devices,'' the Basque police said in a statement, adding that they were still searching for more material.

Also today, police received a phone call saying there was a bomb at Bilbao airport.

''The police searched the area but found nothing. It seems to have been a false alarm,'' a spokesman said.

In Madrid, rescuers worked to get through tonnes of rubble and recover the body of Diego Armando Estacio, one of the first two people to be killed by ETA since May 2003.

Both victims of the bomb were Ecuadorean immigrants.

Estacio's corpse was found yesterday evening by rescuers using a tiny camera to get through the twisted mess of concrete and metal which was once the car park of the new Terminal 4.

Rescuers found the body of the first victim, Carlos Alonso Palate, on Wednesday and his remains were returned to Ecuador for burial yesterday.

An emergency services spokesman said it could take several hours to get to Estacio's body because of the danger that the pile of rubble could collapse.

ETA had killed more than 800 people in its four decade campaign for a Basque homeland, carved out of northern Spain and southwest France, before declaring a ''permanent truce'' in March.

While the group has not officially claimed responsibility for Saturday's blast, one of the warning calls was made in the name of ETA.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met key ministers on Friday and his office said he would address parliament on the ETA situation later this month, once the interior minister has met with officials from other parties.

REUTERS PB KN2241