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Five killed in twin earthquakes in Peru
At least five people have been killed and 21 injured after two consecutive earthquakes struck the mountainous region of Junin, east of the Peruvian capital Lima, authorities said.
Two earthquakes measuring 5.1 and 3.7 magnitudes struck Peru on Saturday night, according to the country's National Seismological Center. Pictures posted on social media showed many houses collapsed and rescue workers working to remove debris and rescue people trapped under the rubble.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing amid fears that more people may be trapped under the rubble.
"I am deeply saddened by the consequences of the earthquake that struck Junin," President-elect Keiko Fujimori said in a message on social media on Sunday. "I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and pledge to stand by those affected."
Luis Vasquez, head of Peru's National Civil Defense Institute, said initial estimates showed at least 48 homes were completely destroyed and another 18 were damaged. About 300 people have been left homeless, for whom temporary shelters have been arranged.
Local radio station Excitosa reported that authorities had confirmed five deaths in the earthquake, but international news agency Reuters reported that the country's civil defense chief put the death toll at six.
In the surrounding area, including the town of Chupaca, about 300 kilometers from Lima, most houses are made of mud bricks or adobe, which makes them easy to collapse. “Our houses were completely destroyed by the earthquake. Many adobe houses collapsed here,” a resident of Chongos Bajo told N Television.
Peru is located in the seismically active zone known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where about 85 percent of the world's earthquakes occur. The National Seismological Center said the first quake was 24 kilometers deep and the second 18 kilometers deep. However, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center initially estimated the first quake to have a magnitude of 5.6.
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