Strong earthquake kills at least 12 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru
Quito (AP): A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least thirteen people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Guayaquil, Ecuador's second-largest city. Twelve of the victims died in Ecuador, while one died in Peru.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso told reporters the earthquake had "without a doubt ... generated alarm in the population." Meanwhile, Ecuador's Risk Management Secretary Cristian Torres in a radio interview said 11 of the victims died in the coastal state of El Oro and one in the highlands state of Azuay.
In Peru, the earthquake was felt from its northern border with Ecuador to the central Pacific coast. Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Ot rola said a 4-year-old girl died from head trauma she suffered in the collapse of her home in the Tumbes region, on the border with Ecuador.
The victim in Azuay's Andean community of Cuenca was a passenger in a vehicle crushed by rubble from a house, according to the Risk Management Secretariat, Ecuador's emergency response agency.
In El Oro, the agency also reported that several people were trapped under rubble. In the community of Machala, a two-story home collapsed before people could evacuate, a pier gave way and a building's walls cracked, trapping an unknown number of people.
The agency said firefighters worked to rescue people while the National Police assessed damage, their work made more difficult by downed lines that interrupted telephone and electricity service.
Machala resident Fabricio Cruz said he was in his third-floor apartment when he felt a strong tremor and saw his television hit the ground. He immediately headed out.
"I heard how my neighbors were shouting and there was a lot of noise," said Cruz, a 34-year-old photographer. He added that when he looked around, he noticed the collapsed roofs of nearby houses.
Lasso said he would travel on Saturday to El Oro.
In Guayaquil, about 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Quito, authorities reported cracks in buildings and homes, as well as some collapsed walls. Authorities ordered the closure of three vehicular tunnels in Guayaquil, which anchors a metro area of over 3 million people.
Videos shared on social media show people gathered on the streets of Guayaquil and nearby communities. People reported objects falling inside their homes.
One video posted online showed three anchors of a show dart from their studio desk as the set shook. They initially tried to shake it off as a minor quake but soon fled off camera. One anchor indicated the show would go on a commercial break, while another repeated, "My God, my God."
A report from Ecuador's Adverse Events Monitoring Directorate ruled out a tsunami threat.
Peruvian authorities said the old walls of an Army barracks collapsed in Tumbes.
Ecuador is particularly prone to earthquakes. In 2016, a quake centered farther north on the Pacific Coast in a more sparsely populated area of the country killed more than 600 people.
#UPDATE At least 12 people were killed, one was wounded and buildings were damaged in the earthquake that shook Peru and Ecuador earlier Saturday, Ecuador's presidency saidhttps://t.co/2iR3qNb74C pic.twitter.com/d23Gh9haCn
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 18, 2023
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Had a very good conversation with friend Modi: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "very good conversation" with his "friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was referring to the talks the two leaders had on Tuesday.
"I had a very good talk with him, and he's a friend of mine from India, and he's doing great. We had a very good conversation," Trump told reporters here as he headed to Las Vegas to address a roundtable on tax cuts.
Trump had called Modi on Tuesday to discuss the bilateral relationship and share perspectives on the situation in West Asia, where the US and Israel have launched a war on Iran.
The US and Iran declared a two-week ceasefire on April 7. They engaged in peace talks with Washington, insisting that Tehran give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment.
The war with Iran has sent gas prices soaring as Tehran blocked the sea lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for a fifth of global oil supplies.
During the Trump-Modi phone call on Tuesday, the two leaders stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
According to the US Ambassador to India Sergei Gor, the 40-minute conversation ended with Trump telling Modi, "we all love you".
Tuesday's phone call was the second between the two leaders since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
