A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador yesterday, just four days after another, more powerful quake sparked devastation and killed more than 500 people, with 1,700 others reported missing.
The epicenter of the latest quake, which struck at 8:33am GMT at a depth of 15.7km, was 25km west of Muisne and 73km west-southwest of Propicia, the US Geological Survey said.
Authorities in Quito called the latest earthquake an aftershock.
Photo: EPA
No tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
It came with the South American nation already reeling from Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 quake, which hit Ecuador’s coast in a zone popular with tourists, not too far from the epicenter of yesterday’s quake.
The death toll from Saturday’s quake, was set to rise sharply after authorities warned that 1,700 people were still missing.
The Ecuadoran National Prosecutors Office yesterday said the death toll had risen to 525, up from a previous official toll of 507.
The office said on Twitter that there were at least 11 foreigners among the dead.
Sniffer dogs and mechanical diggers were busy at work in the wreckage of coastal towns, such as Pedernales and Manta, as the stench of rotting bodies grew stronger under the baking sun.
International rescuers and aid groups rushed to help people trapped as searchers dug for families in the debris.
“We have 2,000 people listed that are being looked for, but we have so far found 300,” Ecuadoran Deputy Minister of the Interior Diego Fuentes told reporters in the capital, Quito.
The latest government figures showed 4,605 people were injured.
In a glimmer of good news as he toured the affected areas, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said 54 people had been rescued alive from the rubble.
Still, hope of finding more people alive was fading fast as the crucial three-day mark was reached late on Tuesday.
Locals in devastated towns such as Manta — population 253,000 — started to lose patience.
“The rescue has been very slow and precious lives have been lost. We relatives have been waiting here since Saturday night,” said Pedro Merro, who said his cousin was under the wreckage of a three-floor market in Manta.
Luis Felipe Navarro said he was sure there were people alive in the concrete and twisted metal of a building he owned — one of about 800 structures toppled in the quake.
“I have received messages on my telephone. They say there are 10 of them in a cavity, but the rescue teams will not listen to me,” he said.
“It is very hard but we are moving forward,” Correa said in Manta, where he handed out food and water in what resembled a war zone.
Hundreds of emergency workers from Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain and other countries were helping overwhelmed Ecuadoran officials.
Fears rose for thousands of people left homeless by the quake, prey to disease-bearing mosquitoes and dirty drinking water.
Firefighting captain Freddy Arca pointed to the ruins of a hotel in Manta as drills and jackhammers rattled around him.
“We know that there is a man, his wife and their two-month-old baby in there, and there may be up to nine other people,” he said.
In Pedernales, about 180km north of Manta, a soccer field was serving as a makeshift morgue, as well as a medical and distribution center.
However, not everyone was able to get help.
“We came here to ask for food, but they’ve already handed out the supplies,” said Gema Guillen, a mother of three.
The family had lost their home in the quake and was now sleeping on the floor, she said.
Quito said it had access to US$600 million in emergency credit overall, but Correa said rebuilding will cost up to US$3 billion and could take two or three years.
It was Ecuador’s worst quake in nearly 40 years.
In Manta, two young women with eyes red from crying wandered around near the ruined hotel on Tuesday.
“My brother Irvin is under there,” said one, Samantha Herrera, 27. “The firefighters only arrived this morning. Ecuador is not prepared for such a catastrophe.”
Rescuers said they could hear a noise from someone under the wreckage. Arca ordered the skinniest members of his team to wriggle into a gap in the rubble.
The man came back up looking pale. Searching for survivors, he found two dead bodies.
“But we can still hear the noise,” Arca said.
Additional reporting by AP
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