Earthquake hits Ecuador, at least 41 dead Magnitude-7.8 Photo's

At least 41 people have died in a magnitude-7.8 earthquake that was centered near the coast of Ecuador, the country's vice president, Jorge Glas, told the nation Saturday night in a televised address.

Glas said a state of emergency was now in effect and added that preventive evacuations in coastal areas were underway because of possible tsunami risks.
In Guayaquil, Ecuador's most populous city, emergency personnel recovered one body from the scene of a bridge collapse, a police officer told reporters with Ecuadorian TV stations.

Elsewhere in the city of 2 million people, shoppers were shaken by the quake. Video from a store showed kitchen utensils and pans hanging from an end cap swinging slightly back and forth and some items falling off shelves.

The lights in the store go out and alarms go off.

The shaking appears to last less than a minute.

A resident of the city told his brother, a CNN employee, that there is damage to some buildings and many areas have lost power.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the tremor was centered about 27 kilometers (16.8 miles) south-southeast of Muisne.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the capital of Quito, located 173 kilometers (108 miles) from the epicenter of the earthquake.

Souece Agency

The quake was felt across the border in Colombia, where it shook residents in Cali and Popayan, and Peru. Pictured: Patients and relatives wait outside the Colombia Clinic in Cali, Colombia, which was evacuated as a precaution 



A group of patients are evacuated from Columbia clinic due to the presence of cracks in the building 



Patients and relatives wait outside the Colombia Clinic in Cali, Colombia

In the capital Quito hundreds of kilometers away, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds and people fled to the streets in fear.

The quake knocked out electricity in several neighborhoods and six homes collapsed but the situation under control and power being restored, Quito's Mayor Mauricio Rodas said.

'I'm in a state of panic,' said Zoila Villena, one of many Quito residents who congregated in the streets.

'My building moved a lot and things fell to the floor. Lots of neighbors were screaming and kids crying.'

'I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I don't know what's going to happen,' said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications worker in Quito.

In the capital, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds and people fled to the streets in fear

The shockwaves sent confused residents streaming into the streets of the capital Quito