At least 14 people have died in Ecuador, while a four-year-old girl has died in Peru after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region.
The epicenter was low EcuadorPacific coast, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Guayaquil, according to the US Geological Survey.
It was also felt in northern Peru, where Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said a four-year-old girl died after the roof of her house collapsed in the Tumbes region on the border with Ecuador.
Authorities report that 14 people were killed and 126 others were injured in Ecuador.
Residents of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city and 170 miles (270 km) southwest of the capital Quito, reported objects falling into their homes during the tremors.
Footage shared on social media showed panicked residents rushing into the streets.
Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, sent a message on Twitter urging residents to remain calm, before telling reporters that the quake had “undoubtedly… caused alarm among the population.”
Cuenca. Photo: AP
The country’s emergency response agency, the Secretariat of Risk Management, said two people died in the mountainous Azoui province.
It is said that one of the victims was the passenger of the car trapped under the collapsed house.
At least 14 people were killed in the coastal state of El Oro, according to the president’s office, which also reported that the earthquake destroyed seven houses and damaged another 50.
Machala: Photo: AP
It is believed that around 20 educational buildings and more than 30 health centers were also damaged.
In the Machala community of El Oro region, a number of people remained in a two-story house after it collapsed, and the pier also sank.
On Saturday, Mr. Lasso said he intended to travel to the region.
The Puerto Bolivar Maritime Museum in Machala was partially flooded after the earthquake
Rescue efforts were hampered by downed power lines that affected telephone and electricity.
A video posted online showed three TV presenters jumping from their studio desks as things began to shake around them.
One of the presenters suggested that the show would go to a commercial break, while another repeated: “Oh my God, oh my God!”
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Cuenca. Photo: AP
The Adverse Event Monitoring Directorate report ruled out the threat of a tsunami for the South American country.
Ecuador is prone to earthquakes. In 2016, more than 600 people were killed by the earthquake, which was centered in the more sparsely populated part of the country on the northern Pacific coast.