12 Aug, 2014 22:22

Two dead, several trapped following double earthquake in Ecuador

A 5.1 earthquake has struck around 22.5 km northeast of Ecuador's capital, Quito, followed by a 4.3 magnitude aftershock. At least two people have been killed as the tremors caused several landslides and trapped at least three people in a collapsed mine.

At least eight people were injured, a government office said via Twitter, Reuters reports. The country's Risk Management office said firemen were working to rescue those who had been trapped in Catequilla mine.

The epicenters of both earthquakes were recorded at a depth of around 5 kilometers, according to preliminary data from the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador.

Following the quakes, the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito suspended operations as a precaution and urged passengers to leave the terminals. Operations were resumed an hour later, after airport officials ensured the infrastructure wasn’t damaged.

#Ecuador #AHORA derrumbes de tierra #SismoQuito por #Sismo de 5.1 pic.twitter.com/yzF6CSXnbm
— Meteo - Estacion bcp (@Estacion_bcp) August 12, 2014

Se reportan varias vías en @UIO donde hubo deslizamiento de tierra, hay mucho polvo. Maneja con precaución. pic.twitter.com/KL2DrGOafI
— Policía Ecuador (@PoliciaEcuador) August 12, 2014

Impresionante la tierra se movió miren lo que paso @elcomerciocom pic.twitter.com/lSTmC0Vo5B
— Mauricio Zuñiga (@Mauricio10zu) August 12, 2014

[FOTOS] Derrumbes en varias vías de la capital por #SismoQuito, detalles --> http://t.co/vCl3Ivha4j Foto @nestorguss pic.twitter.com/pwYgcoSM0o
— Informativos Gamatv (@InfoGamatv) August 12, 2014

#AHORA evacuación en el Aeropuerto de Quito #Ecuador nube de polvo en la zona luego del #SismoQuito pic.twitter.com/a0yUS8nDi9
— Meteo - Estacion bcp (@Estacion_bcp) August 12, 2014

Unidades especializadas @PoliciaEcuador asisten en rescate a víctimas por #Sismo #UIO pic.twitter.com/YJ1QVhEESV
— Policía Ecuador (@PoliciaEcuador) August 12, 2014