Ecuador, deadly earthquake kills 272 and wounds thousands

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Ecuador on the evening of Saturday the 16th of April. According to news agency AFP, the death toll has risen to 272 and over 2,000 people have been injured. Ecuadorian Vice-President Jorge Glas said the damage is enormous and declared a state of emergency in the six hardest-hit provinces: Manabi, Esmeraldas,

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Ecuador on the evening of Saturday the 16th of April. According to news agency AFP, the death toll has risen to 272 and over 2,000 people have been injured. Ecuadorian Vice-President Jorge Glas said the damage is enormous and declared a state of emergency in the six hardest-hit provinces: Manabi, Esmeraldas, Los Rios, Santa Elena, Guayas and Santo Domingo.

The death toll could soar again

According to Glas, the death toll could rise again as many people have been hit by rubble. “It looked like the end of the world,” said a 40-year-old woman who lives in the city of Manta, one of the most affected areas. “Houses, street lights, everything fell down. Many people were buried alive”.

 

The earthquake hit at 7 p.m. local time, with the epicentre 173 kilometres north-west of the capital Quito. The quake was preceded by another 4.8-magnitude earthquake.

 


Local media broadcasted the images of the collapse of a bridge in the city of Guayaquil and the roof of a mall. Meanwhile, civil aviation closed the airport of Manta, due to problems to the control tower.

Another quake hit Peru

Security forces had firstly foreseen “two possible tsunamis on coasts located within 300 kilometres from the epicentre”. However, at a later time the alert was withdrawn.

 

 

Another earthquake hit Peru – simultaneously with Ecuador’s. According to the local institute of geophysics, the magnitude was 7.4. Luckily, no people have been killed.

 

Cover photo by Abp News via Twitter.

Translated by

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