Ecuador quake death toll soars to 272
PORTOVIEJO (AFP) — The biggest earthquake in Ecuador in decades has killed 272 people — but that toll will “certainly” rise even further, the president said on Sunday as overwhelmed rescuers struggled to pull survivors out of the destruction.
The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the small, oil-producing South American nation late Saturday, shattering hotels and homes along its Pacific coast popular with tourists and reducing 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.
But along the coast, the devastation prompted neighboring Colombia, as well as quake- experienced Mexico and El Salvador, to rush in rescue personnel to help out.
Elsewhere in hard-hit Portoviejo, the stench of decaying bodies began to fill the tropical air as rescuers raced to find survivors.
As Ecuador digs out from its strongest earthquake in decades, tales of devastating loss are everywhere amid the rubble.
It was supposed to be a joyful family reunion to celebrate a young relative’s start of college. But the gathering ended in tragedy when a collapsing building crushed 17-year-old Sayira Quinde, her mother, father and toddler brother in their rusting Chevy Blazer.
A grief stricken aunt, Johana Estupinan, now is making the longest journey of her life in a funeral hearse to the town of Esmeraldas, where she will bury her loved ones and break the news of the loss to her sister’s three now orphaned children.
The Saturday night quake knocked out power in many parts along the coast and residents who fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami had no home to return to, or feared structures still standing might collapse. With makeshift shelters in short supply, many hunkered down to spend a second straight night outdoors huddled among neighbors.