The death toll from Ecuador earthquake reaches to 262 on Sunday
as survivors patched together temporary coffins to bury loved ones, lined up
for water and required shelter beside the debris of their devastated homes.
The 7.8 magnitude quake
struck off the Pacific coast on Saturday and was felt around the Andean nation
of 16 million people, causing panic as far away as the highland capital Quito
and destroying buildings, bridges and roads.
President Rafael Correa hurried
home from a trip to Italy to supervise the emergency. "The immediate
priority is to rescue people in the rubble," he said on Twitter.
"Everything can be rebuilt but lives cannot be recovered and that's what hurts the most," Correa told state radio.
"Everything can be rebuilt but lives cannot be recovered and that's what hurts the most," Correa told state radio.
The government said 262 people were killed and up to 2,500
injured, according to the latest counts on Sunday evening.
Coastal areas nearest the
epicenter were hit hardest, especially Pedernales, a rural tourist spot with
beaches and palm trees now loaded with debris from pastel-colored houses.
Stunned residents
recounted a violent shake, followed by a sudden collapse of buildings that
trapped people in debris.
Establishments said there
were more than 160 aftershocks, mainly in the Pedernales area. A state of
emergency was declared in six provinces.
The quake has piled pain
on the economy of OPEC's smallest member, already winding from low oil prices,
with economic growth this year predictable at near-zero.
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