Quito, April 17 (IANS) At least 28 people were killed in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador on Saturday, Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas said.
A strong quake struck off the coast of Ecuador on Saturday, Xinhua news agency cited the US Geological Survey (USGS) as saying.
The quake was also strongly felt in several other Ecuadorian cities. The media reported that at least one house and an overpass had collapsed in the port city of Guayaquil.
The quake was centred just off the coast at a shallow depth of 19 km, according to the USGS, which originally put the quake measuring 7.4 on the Richter Scale and then raised it to 7.8.
Ecuador's Institute of Geophysics put the quake's magnitude at 6.5 and the depth at 10 km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said hazardous tsunami waves are possible for some coasts.
Ecuador is located in a region with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
