A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador Wednesday, sowing new panic four days after a more powerful quake killed more than 525 people, with hundreds still missing. The latest quake struck just off the coastal town of Muisne in north-western Ecuador. No new damage or casualties were immediately reported, AFP journalists in the region said.
But tremors still jolted nerves even as rescue workers continued pulling bodies from the rubble of Saturday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake, Ecuador's worst in nearly 40 years. The death toll from that quake crossed a new threshold as officials reported 525 deaths in the western province of Manabi alone - not including at least two deaths in the south-western province of Guayas.
The previous toll given by officials was 480 deaths and some 1,700 missing. Officials warned the toll was likely to rise further as emergency workers combed the mangled rubble, often by hand or with basic tools. At least 11 foreigners were killed in Saturday's quake, which struck a coastal region popular with tourists. They included citizens of Britain, Canada, Ireland and several Latin American countries.
Ecuadoran authorities called the latest quake an aftershock. The US Geological Survey said it struck at 0833 GMT at a depth of 15.7 kilometers (9.8 miles). It placed the epicenter 25 kilometers west of Muisne. Sniffer dogs and mechanical diggers were busy at work in the wreckage of coastal towns such as Pedernales and Manta, as the stench of rotting bodies grew stronger in the tropical heat.
Hope of finding more victims alive was fading fast as the crucial three-day mark came and went late Tuesday. Locals in devastated towns such as Manta - population 253,000 - were starting to lose patience. "The rescue has been very slow and precious lives have been lost," said Pedro Merro, who said his cousin was under the wreckage of a three-story market. Luis Felipe Navarro said he was sure there were people alive in the concrete and twisted metal of a building he owned - one of around 800 structures toppled in the quake.
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