Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru

Oh Strong earthquake It rocked southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, burying others under debris, and sending rescue teams into streets littered with debris and downed power lines.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific coast, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city. One of the victims died in Peru, while 14 others died in Ecuador, where authorities also reported at least 126 people injured.

Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador told reporters that the earthquake had “undoubtedly… caused alarm among the population.” Lasso’s office said in a statement that 12 of the victims died in the coastal state of El Oro and two in the highlands state of Azuay.

Earthquake tremors were felt in Peru from its northern border with Ecuador to the central Pacific coast. A 4-year-old girl died of head trauma after her house collapsed in the Tumbes region, Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otrola said. border with Ecuador.

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One of the victims in Azuay was a passenger in a vehicle that was crushed by debris from a house in the Andean community of Cuenca, according to Ecuador’s emergency response agency, the Risk Management Secretariat.

In El Oro, the agency also reported that several people were trapped under the debris. In the community of Machala, a two-storey house collapsed before people could evacuate, a pier gave way and the walls of the building cracked, trapping an unknown number of people.

The agency said Firefighters worked While the National Police assessed the damage to rescue people, their work was made more difficult by downed power lines that disrupted telephone and electrical service.

Machala resident Fabricio Cruz said he was in his third-floor apartment when he felt the strong earthquake and saw his television hit the ground. He went out immediately.

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Cruz, a 34-year-old photographer, said: “I heard how my neighbors were screaming and there was a lot of noise. He added that when he looked around, he saw the roofs of nearby houses collapsing.

The Ecuadorian government also reported damage to health care centers and schools. Lasso said he will travel to El Oro on Saturday.

In Guayaquil, about 170 miles (270 km) southwest of the capital Quito, officials reported cracks in buildings and homes, and some walls collapsed. Authorities ordered the closure of three vehicular tunnels in Guayaquil, which anchors the metro area of ​​more than 3 million people.

Videos shared on social media showed people gathering on the streets of Guayaquil and surrounding communities. People reported objects falling inside their homes.

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A video posted online showed the show’s three anchors darting from their studio desks when the set shook. Initially they tried to shake it off as a minor earthquake but soon ran away from the camera. One anchor signaled for the show to go to a commercial break, while another repeated, “My God, my God.”

Louis Tomala was fishing with others when the earthquake struck. He said his boat “started moving like a racehorse, we got scared, and when we turned on the radio, we heard an earthquake.” Tomala said that’s when his group decided to stay at sea. Fear of Tsunami can develop.

A report by Ecuador’s Adverse Events Monitoring Directorate dismissed the threat of a tsunami.

Peruvian officials said the old walls of an army barracks in Tumbes collapsed.

Ecuador is particularly prone to earthquakes. In 2016, an earthquake was centered to the north. Pacific Coast More than 600 people died in the country’s most sparsely populated region.

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Machala student Kathryn Cruz said her house shook so badly she couldn’t even get up to run out of her room and into the street.

“It was terrifying. I’ve never felt anything like it in my life,” she said.