dpa
Machala
Authorities said a 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador and neighbouring Peru on Saturday and killed at least 15 people. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck Ecuador’s coastal Guayas region, with the epicentre about 80 kilometres south of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second-largest city. The quake was about 66 kilometres deep, USGS said. In Educador, 14 people were killed, while almost 400 were injured, the Ecuadorian Secretariat for Risk Management reported. Most were killed in the El Oro province, while fatalities had also been recorded in Azuay, in the Andean highlands, the Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio reported. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso called for calm and travelled to the most affected provinces. In Peru. Prime Minister Alberto Otárola said a young girl died on the border with Ecuador after her home collapsed in the Tumbes region.The countries lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, marked by seismic upheaval with 128 active volcanoes.