A person takes a photograph of a constructing that collapsed after an earthquake shook Machala, Ecuador, on Saturday.

Jhonny Crespo/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Jhonny Crespo/AP

A person takes a photograph of a constructing that collapsed after an earthquake shook Machala, Ecuador, on Saturday.

Jhonny Crespo/AP

QUITO, Ecuador — A robust earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing no less than 14 individuals, trapping others below rubble, and sending rescue groups out into streets affected by particles and fallen energy strains.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered simply off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest metropolis. One of many victims died in Peru, whereas 13 others died in Ecuador, the place authorities additionally reported that no less than 126 individuals had been injured.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso instructed reporters the earthquake had “indubitably … generated alarm within the inhabitants.” Lasso’s workplace in an announcement stated 11 of the victims died within the coastal state of El Oro and two within the highlands state of Azuay.

In Peru, the earthquake was felt from its northern border with Ecuador to the central Pacific coast. Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola stated a 4-year-old woman died from head trauma she suffered within the collapse of her dwelling within the Tumbes area, on the border with Ecuador.

One of many victims in Azuay was a passenger in a automobile crushed by rubble from a home within the Andean neighborhood of Cuenca, based on the Danger Administration Secretariat, Ecuador’s emergency response company.

In El Oro, the company additionally reported that a number of individuals had been trapped below rubble. In the neighborhood of Machala, a two-story dwelling collapsed earlier than individuals might evacuate, a pier gave means and a constructing’s partitions cracked, trapping an unknown variety of individuals.

A police officer appears up subsequent to a automobile crushed by particles after an earthquake shook Cuenca, Ecuador, on Saturday.

Xavier Caivinagua/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Xavier Caivinagua/AP

A police officer appears up subsequent to a automobile crushed by particles after an earthquake shook Cuenca, Ecuador, on Saturday.

Xavier Caivinagua/AP

The company stated firefighters labored to rescue individuals whereas the Nationwide Police assessed harm, their work made tougher by downed strains that interrupted phone and electrical energy service.

Machala resident Fabricio Cruz stated he was in his third-floor condo when he felt a powerful tremor and noticed his tv hit the bottom. He instantly headed out.

“I heard how my neighbors had been shouting and there was quite a lot of noise,” stated Cruz, a 34-year-old photographer. He added that when he appeared round, he seen the collapsed roofs of close by homes.

Ecuador’s authorities additionally reported damages to well being care facilities and colleges. Lasso stated he would journey on Saturday to El Oro.

In Guayaquil, about 170 miles southwest of the capital, Quito, authorities reported cracks in buildings and houses, in addition to some collapsed partitions. Authorities ordered the closure of three vehicular tunnels in Guayaquil, which anchors a metro space of over 3 million individuals.

Movies shared on social media present individuals gathered on the streets of Guayaquil and close by communities. Folks reported objects falling inside their properties.

One video posted on-line confirmed three anchors of a present dart from their studio desk because the set shook. They initially tried to shake it off as a minor quake however quickly fled off digital camera. One anchor indicated the present would go on a industrial break, whereas one other repeated, “My God, my God.”

Luis Tomalá was fishing with others when the earthquake struck. He stated their boat started shifting “like a racehorse, we acquired scared, and once we turned on the radio, we heard concerning the earthquake.” That is when his group, Tomalá stated, determined to remain at sea fearing a tsunami might develop.

A report from Ecuador’s Antagonistic Occasions Monitoring Directorate dominated out a tsunami risk.

Peruvian authorities stated the outdated partitions of an Military barracks collapsed in Tumbes.

Ecuador is especially vulnerable to earthquakes. In 2016, a quake centered farther north on the Pacific Coast in a extra sparsely populated space of the nation killed greater than 600 individuals.

Machala scholar Katherine Cruz stated her dwelling shook so badly that she couldn’t even stand up to depart her room and flee to the road.

“It was horrible. I had by no means felt something like this in my life,” she stated.