© AP
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake killed at least 12 people in Ecuador on Saturday. Several buildings were damaged. The quake was also felt in Peru.
gjsSource: BELGA
The earthquake occurred around 12 noon local time in Balao, a city in southern Ecuador, 140 kilometers from the metropolis of Guayaquil. The US seismological institute USGS is talking about a magnitude of 6.8, the Peruvian authorities registered a quake of 7.0.
“Twelve deaths have been reported so far: 11 in El Oro province and one in Azuay province,” the Ecuadorian president’s office said on Twitter. Houses have been destroyed in the regions.
Earlier, the Ecuadorian disaster agency had said one person was killed in Cuenca, the capital of Azuay. Three others died in the same region when a building collapsed, it said.
There are currently no known fatalities in Peru. According to Hernando Tavera of the National Seismological Center, the damage was overall limited.