At least 13 people are killed in a strong earthquake in Ecuador

Machala

At least 13 people have been killed in a violent earthquake in southern Ecuador. Eleven of those killed in apartment or building collapses came from El Oro province on the Pacific coast, and two from Azuay in the Andean highlands, Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio reported. Another 126 were injured, according to the Ecuadorian government. Dozens of buildings, including health centers, were damaged, and some were destroyed.

According to the Geological Institute (IG) of the South American country, several earthquakes, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 6.8, occurred about 35 kilometers off the coast of Palau Canton in Guayas province. The earth also trembled in neighboring northern Peru. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso called for calm, announcing that he was heading to the hardest-hit provinces of El Oro and Azuay. A person died in the historic center of Cuenca when the wall of a house fell on his car. Many buildings in Machala collapsed and people were buried.

The entire western coast of the double American continent lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which is famous for its high level of seismic activity. A devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Ecuadorean coast in April 2016, killing more than 570 people and injuring thousands.

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