At least 235 people have been
confirmed dead and over 1,500 people injured after Ecuador was hit by
its most powerful earthquake in decades.
Some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being deployed in the affected areas, as rescue operations got under way.The magnitude-7.8 quake struck early on Saturday evening.
Coastal areas in the north-west were closest to the epicentre and officials say the death toll is likely to rise as information begins to come in.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has cut short a visit to Italy to fly back and deal with the crisis.
He has declared a state of emergency and said the priority is finding survivors.
"Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that's what hurts the most," he said.
- In pictures: Ecuador earthquake
- Ecuador quake - your stories
- History of deadly earthquakes
- Can quakes be predicted?
"We have to be quiet so that rescuers can listen [for survivors]," Mr Glas told him. "We cannot go in with heavy machinery because it can be tragic for the wounded."
Helicopters and buses are ferrying troops north but have been hampered by landslides.
In some areas people are using their bare hands to try to dig out survivors.
Food and other essentials has been handed out and international aid was also beginning, with the first coming from Venezuela and Mexico.
At least 235 people have been
confirmed dead and over 1,500 people injured after Ecuador was hit by
its most powerful earthquake in decades.
Some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being deployed in the affected areas, as rescue operations got under way.The magnitude-7.8 quake struck early on Saturday evening.
Coastal areas in the north-west were closest to the epicentre and officials say the death toll is likely to rise as information begins to come in.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has cut short a visit to Italy to fly back and deal with the crisis.
He has declared a state of emergency and said the priority is finding survivors.
"Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that's what hurts the most," he said.
- In pictures: Ecuador earthquake
- Ecuador quake - your stories
- History of deadly earthquakes
- Can quakes be predicted?
"We have to be quiet so that rescuers can listen [for survivors]," Mr Glas told him. "We cannot go in with heavy machinery because it can be tragic for the wounded."
Helicopters and buses are ferrying troops north but have been hampered by landslides.
In some areas people are using their bare hands to try to dig out survivors.
Food and other essentials has been handed out and international aid was also beginning, with the first coming from Venezuela and Mexico.
At least 235 people have been
confirmed dead and over 1,500 people injured after Ecuador was hit by
its most powerful earthquake in decades.
Some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being deployed in the affected areas, as rescue operations got under way.The magnitude-7.8 quake struck early on Saturday evening.
Coastal areas in the north-west were closest to the epicentre and officials say the death toll is likely to rise as information begins to come in.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has cut short a visit to Italy to fly back and deal with the crisis.
He has declared a state of emergency and said the priority is finding survivors.
"Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that's what hurts the most," he said.
- In pictures: Ecuador earthquake
- Ecuador quake - your stories
- History of deadly earthquakes
- Can quakes be predicted?
"We have to be quiet so that rescuers can listen [for survivors]," Mr Glas told him. "We cannot go in with heavy machinery because it can be tragic for the wounded."
Helicopters and buses are ferrying troops north but have been hampered by landslides.
In some areas people are using their bare hands to try to dig out survivors.
Food and other essentials has been handed out and international aid was also beginning, with the first coming from Venezuela and Mexico.
At least 500 people were injured in the quake, which was felt across the country.
Widespread severe damage is reported, with a bridge destroyed as far south as Guayaquil about 300km (190 miles) away.
Gabriel Alcivar, mayor of Pedernales, close to the epicentre, said the "entire town" had been flattened.
"We're trying to do the most we can but there's almost nothing we can do," he added, warning that looting had broken out
The quake is Ecuador's largest since 1979. More than 130 aftershocks have followed.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a fairly shallow depth of 19.2km (11.9 miles), about 27km from Muisne in a sparsely populated area.
David Rothery, a professor of geosciences at The Open University, said Ecuador's quake was about six times as powerful as the earthquake that struck southern Japan on Saturday.
The quake was also felt in Colombia, where patients in a clinic in the city of Cali were evacuated from the building.
