Quake death toll rises to 233 in Ecuador

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa says the death toll from a magnitude-7.8 earthquake has risen to 233. Correa sent the new figure on his official Twitter account while flying home from Rome to deal with the emergency.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast and was felt hundreds of miles (km) away in the capital of Quito as well as in the large commercial city of Guayaquil, where rubble lay strewn in the streets and some buildings were cracked or partially collapsed. 

A bridge in the city collapsed on top of car, crushing it. 

The earthquake was Ecuador's worst in decades and officials said the death toll was likely to rise even higher as rescue teams headed into the hardest-hit areas. 

"It was terrifying, we were all scared and we're still out in the streets because we're worried about aftershocks," said Guayaquil security guard Fernando Garcia. "Everything is damaged." 

A state of emergency was declared in six provinces. 

The areas worst affected include Pedernales, which draws  tourists with beaches lined with palm-trees and tropical thatch-hut restaurants, as well as nearby Cojimies. 

"There are villages that are totally devastated," Pedernales' mayor, Gabriel Alcivar, said in a radio interview. "What happened here in Pedernales is catastrophic." 

Ramon Solorzano, 46, a car parts merchant in the city of Manta, said he was getting ready to leave the city with his family. 

"Most people are out in the streets with backpacks on, heading for higher ground," he said, speaking in a trembling voice via a WhatsApp phone call. "The streets are cracked. The power is out and phones are down." 

The quake struck at a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles), and was followed...