Ecuador earthquake death toll rises to 350

AFP, QUITO:  Ecuador's government Monday raised the death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the country's Pacific coast to about 350, updating an earlier count of 272.
"Sadly we have to inform you that there are about 350 people killed. The number of people injured has also risen" from an earlier toll of 2,068, Security Minister Cesar Navas said on television.
Meanwhile, rescuers in Ecuador clawed through collapsed buildings Monday as they scrambled to find survivors of a powerful earthquake that killed 272 people, injured thousands, and caused widespread coastal destruction.
President Rafael Correa said the death toll will “certainly” rise in the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the small, oil-producing South American nation late Saturday.
The quake, the most powerful to strike Ecuador in decades, shattered hotels and homes along its Pacific coast popular with tourists and reduced several towns to rubble.
More than 2,000 people were injured as structures tumbled during the quake or its dozens of aftershocks.
The capital Quito, farther inland, escaped with cracked walls and power outages, and the country’s strategic oil facilities appeared unscathed, officials said.
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Guillaume Long said via Twitter that experienced rescuers were arriving from Switzerland, Spain, and other Latin American countries including Mexico and Peru.

 

Ecuador earthquake death toll rises to 350

AFP, QUITO: Ecuadors government Monday raised the death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck the countrys Pacific coast to about 350, updating an earlier count of 272. Sadly we have to inform you that there are about 350 people killed. The number of people injured has also risen from an earlier toll of 2,068, Security Minister Cesar Navas said on television. Meanwhile, rescuers in Ecuador clawed through collapsed buildings Monday as they scrambled to find survivors of a powerful earthquake that killed 272 people, injured thousands, and caused widespread coastal destruction. President Rafael Correa said the death toll will certainly rise in the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the small, oil-producing South American nation late Saturday. The quake, the most powerful to strike Ecuador in decades, shattered hotels and homes along its Pacific coast popular with tourists and reduced several towns to rubble. More than 2,000 people were injured as structures tumbled during the quake or its dozens of aftershocks. The capital Quito, farther inland, escaped with cracked walls and power outages, and the countrys strategic oil facilities appeared unscathed, officials said. Ecuadors Foreign Minister Guillaume Long said via Twitter that experienced rescuers were arriving from Switzerland, Spain, and other Latin American countries including Mexico and Peru.