The powerful earthquake that killed more than 480 people in Ecuador is the worst disaster the country has faced in decades, a top official said Tuesday.
“It’s the worst tragedy in 60 years,” Defense Minister Ricardo Patiño said. “We’re facing the most difficult phase right now, which is rescuing victims and recovering bodies.”
The Ministry of Security’s risk management agency released a statement updating the death toll from Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Ecuador. It now stands at at least 480, with more than 4,000 injured. “We’re removing debris, and we will very likely find more bodies,” Patiño told reporters. “It’s going to take us years to recover from this.”
Rescue crews and aid from Latin America and beyond have poured into the South American nation since the earthquake, which caused widespread damage throughout the country, but especially on the coast.
The earthquake is the deadliest to hit Ecuador since March 1987 when 1,000 people died in a 7.2-magnitude temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Another earthquake in 1949 killed 5,000 people, Patiño told reporters Tuesday.
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