At least 14 dead in severe earthquake in southern Ecuador

At least 14 people were killed and 126 others injured in a strong earthquake in the southern coastal region of Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday. Dozens of buildings have been damaged. This is reported by international news agencies.

The quake, which struck around noon, had a magnitude of 6.8, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter was off the coast of Ecuador, about 80 kilometers south of Guayaquil, the country’s second city, at a depth of 66 kilometers. Authorities said there was no threat of a tsunami.

Thirteen of the fatalities occurred in Ecuador, one in Peru. Rescue workers are active in the streets of the disaster area, which are littered with rubble and power lines. Several roads are impassable due to landslides caused by the quake.

Hit by debris

Eleven people were killed in the coastal state of El Oro and two in Azuay, inland, according to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso. One of them was in a car that was hit by debris from a collapsed house in the Andean city of Cuenca.

Rescue teams are being mobilized to provide assistance to those affected a tweet.

In El Oro, according to authorities, several people were buried under rubble. In the city of Machala, a two-story building collapsed. In Peru, a four-year-old girl died when her home in the border region of Tumbes collapsed, Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola said.