Ecuador earthquake: at least 246 killed with many still trapped
People search for their belongings amid the debris of their destroyed homes in Pedernales, on Ecuador’s Pacific coast. Photograph: Dolores Ochoa/AP
A woman cries as she views the crumbled remains of her home in the town of Pedernales. Photograph: Jose Jacome/EPA7.8-magnitude quake brings devastation to cities and villages along Pacific coast, with authorities warning death toll is likely to rise
Jessica Elgot, Jonathan Watts, Eduardo Varas and Marcela Ribadeneira in Quito
Sunday 17 April 2016
Ecuador’s most devastating earthquake in 40 years has killed at least 246 people, with bridges buckling and buildings collapsing in Pacific coastal cities and fishing villages.
Sunday 17 April 2016Ecuador’s most devastating earthquake in 40 years has killed at least 246 people, with bridges buckling and buildings collapsing in Pacific coastal cities and fishing villages.
The official death toll as dawn broke after the 7.8-magnitude quake was 235, but authorities warned that the numbers were likely to rise, with many people still trapped and rescue efforts in the remote region at the epicentre of the quake hampered by landslides. More than 10,000 troops have been deployed to keep order and help with rescue operations. Venezuela and Mexico’s governments pledged specialist aid to help search teams.
The earthquake struck shortly after night fell on Saturday near Muisne, in a sparsely populated area of mostly small ports and tourist villages about 100 miles from the capital, Quito. Local officials reported deaths in the cities of Portoviejo, the Tarqui neighbourhood of Manta and Guayaquil, where at least one person died after a bridge collapsed on top of a car. Houses were upended or reduced to rubble, some with washing lines still strung up or photos hanging on the walls.
Ecuador: car pulled from under fallen bridge after earthquake – video
