Bulgaria investigates astrologist for quake claim

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors launched an inquiry on Tuesday to establish whether a famous astrologist who had forecast an earthquake that failed to take place had committed the crime of spreading false information.

Hundreds of people from the southern city of Haskovo slept in tents and their cars on Saturday night after astrologist Emil Leshtanski said an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale would rock the city that night.

Leshtanski had said the tremor would cause death and serious damage to the city of some 80,000 people, on the day predominantly Christian Orthodox Bulgarians celebrate Easter.

Bulgarians are highly superstitious, with psychics, healers and fortune-tellers enjoying wide popularity in the Balkan country of 7.6 million.

Panic gave way to anger once the predicted quake did not take place and several people in Haskovo said they would take Leshtanski to court for causing them distress.

Prosecutors said they will be collecting evidence in the case for up to two months on suspicion of spreading false information and causing panic. The astrologist faces up to two years in jail if convicted.

He published an apology to the citizens of Haskovo in a national newspaper where he writes daily zodiac forecasts.

Italian scientist Gioacchino Giuliani predicted a major earthquake around L'Aquila weeks before disaster struck the city on April 6, killing 294 people, but was reported to the authorities for spreading panic.

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Ilieva; Editing by Farah Master)