Ecuador quake death toll hits 413


The government of Ecaudor says at least 413 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck Ecuador.

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck Ecuador's Pacific coast on Saturday, and the search for survivors continues.

The cost of rebuilding is likely to be in the billions of dollars, President Rafael Correa said during a visit to the worst-affected region.

He said it was the biggest tragedy to hit Ecuador in the past seven decades. Some 2,500 people were injured.

Late on Monday, six people, including two girls - one three years old and the other nine months old, were reported to have been rescued from the ruins of a hotel near the coastal town of Manta.

Elsewhere, funerals for some of those killed were held in Portoviejo and Pedernales, two towns that were the worst hit.

The quake comes at a time when the oil-producing country is already reeling from the slump in global crude prices.

Western Ecuador was hit by a number of strong aftershocks on Monday, the largest of which measured magnitude 5.1.

In Pedernales, close to the epicentre, as many as 400 people are feared dead. Mayor Gabriel Alcivar said the "entire town" had been flattened.

The quake was also felt in neighbouring Colombia.

Scientists say there is no connection between the quake in Ecuador and a severe tremor in southern Japan, which also occurred on Saturday.

SOURCE: BBC News