At least 14 dead after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador and Peru

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At least 14 people were killed and 381 others injured in Ecuador in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that destroyed buildings and crushed a car Saturday afternoon, the Ecuadorean government said. The earthquake was felt as far north as Peru.

The quake occurred about five miles from the small coastal city of Palau in Ecuador, at a depth of approximately 41 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. It caused several buildings to plunge into the sea at a seaport in the resort town of Gambili, its pitched roofs hovering just a few feet above the water’s surface, as members of the Armed Forces of Ecuador reacted to the scene.

The Ecuadorian government said on Saturday that at least seven homes were destroyed and 50 others damaged in the quake. The facade of a building fell on a car in Cuenca, killing at least one person, and 17 educational buildings were damaged as well as 31 healthcare-related buildings.

Pictures posted on social media showed the dome of the Church of the Virgen de la Nope in La Troncal, severely cracking, leaving holes in the walls of the clock tower.

In Peru, local media reported that a 4-year-old girl in the Tumbes region was killed after her house collapsed, citing a statement by Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otarola.

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Ecuador has a history of deadly earthquakes and intense seismic activity. The country of 17.8 million people in 2016 experienced a massive magnitude 7.8 disaster in the northwest that killed hundreds. Earthquakes in northern Ecuador also killed at least 1,000 people in 1987, in one of the most devastating natural disasters.

On Saturday, Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said he visited the hard-hit city of Machala, where he assessed the damage and met victims in hospital.

He said, “I wanted to express my solidarity with the families of those killed and solidarity with those injured in the earthquake.”

Samantha Schmidt contributed to this report.

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