Nothing less than 272 were left dead in Ecuador’s biggest earthquake which occur in the early hours on Sunday.
Ecuador Vice President, Jorge Glas had earlier confirmed that 246 had died and more than 2,500 people were injured but the death victim had risen to 272 as at Sunday evening.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, causing panic as far away as the highland capital Quito and collapsing buildings and roads in a swath of western towns.
According to the President, Rafael Correa, who was on away trip to Italy, “the immediate priority is to rescue people in the rubble.
”Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that’s what hurts the most,” he said.
A state of emergency has been declared in six provinces while Authorities reiterated that there had been 163 aftershocks, mainly in the Pedernales area.
Government officials have confirmed that about 13,500 security force personnel were mobilized to keep order around Ecuador, and $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency.
According to reports, The earthquake comes after two huge earthquakes struck Japan, sparking tsunami fears and killing 32 and injuring hundreds and left thousands homeless.
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