Death toll rises to 15 after Ecuador earthquake

• More than 400 people have been hurt and 15 fatalities.
• After a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador’s southern coast.
• With 12 fatalities reported in El Oro province.

More than 400 people have been hurt, with at least 15 fatalities, after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador‘s southern coast.

When the earthquake struck at around noon local time, buildings were destroyed in various places (17:00 GMT).

Authorities reported that El Oro province in the south was the hardest affected, with 12 fatalities reported there.

The earthquake was felt in northern Peru, where a 14-year-old girl was killed when her home fell in the border district of Tumbes.

Machala and Cuenca in Ecuador were two of the cities where buildings and automobiles were damaged while rescue personnel hurried to assist victims.

The epicenter was close to Balao, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city with a population of about three million.

“We ran from the house,” Machala resident Exon Tobar told the Media. “The ground – it was a very powerful explosion – it made it shake and it made the electric cables, the windows, and everything move. People were in the streets praying because it didn’t stop.”

As authorities examine the damage, President Guillermo Lasso urged the people of Ecuador to maintain their composure.

Also, he went to a hospital in Machala to meet with some of the injured individuals.

According to the authorities, more than 250 injured persons were treated in Pasaje, El Oro, and almost all of them were subsequently released.

Landslides have blocked a number of roads, and they have also destroyed a number of residences, educational facilities, and medical facilities, according to the authorities.

Three individuals perished on Jambel Island in El Oro province after a security camera tower collapsed, while one person was reported murdered in Cuenca, in the province of Azuay, after a wall fell on their car.

Several other places, including Manabi, Manta, and the capital Quito, have reported feeling the tremor as well.

This earthquake is the most powerful to strike Ecuador since the one in 2016 that left almost 700 people dead and thousands injured.

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