“At the moment, 12 people have died, including 11 in El Oro and 1 in Azuay,” the Ecuadorian president said on Twitter. The earthquake also injured at least one person and caused property damage.
The United States Institute of Seismology (USGS) rated the magnitude at 6.8 on the Richter scale, and the Peruvian seismological authority announced a magnitude of 7.0.
One person died in Cuenca (south) and three in the surrounding area when the building collapsed, according to Ecuador’s Crisis Management Office.
In Peru, Hernando Tavera, director of the National Center for Seismology, told RPP radio that no casualties were recorded and “there was no serious damage.”
Aftershocks were felt, and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Marine Antarctic Research Institute assured that the tremor “does not meet the conditions necessary to generate a tsunami” in the Pacific.
Peru and Ecuador are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a major seismic belt that stretches along the west coast of the Americas.
