Quito, April 17 (IANS): A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, killing 77 people and injuring nearly 600, the authorities said on Sunday.
Vice President Jorge Glas said the quake hit at 6.58 p.m. on Saturday (11.58 GMT) near the northern coastal town of Muisne.
When he earlier put the death toll at 41, Glas warned that the toll would "unfortunately rise in the coming hours".
BBC reported widespread severe damage, with a bridge destroyed as far south as Guayaquil, about 300 km away from the capital Quito.
A state of emergency was declared in six provinces.
The earthquake, the country's worst in decades, shook buildings in Quito. There were a number of aftershocks, the biggest at 5.4.
President Rafael Correa cut short his trip to Italy to return home.
BBC quoted Glas as saying that at least 77 people had been killed and 588 injured.
The quake was centred just off the country's northwest coast at a shallow depth of 19 km, Xinhua news agency quoted the the US Geological Survey (USGS) as saying.
The USGS first put the quake at a magnitude of 7.4 and then raised it to 7.8. Ecuador's Institute of Geophysics put the magnitude at 6.5 and the depth at 10 km.
In Quito, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds, forcing people to flee to the streets in panic.
In the biggest port city of Guayaquil, a bridge collapsed on top of a car and the roof of a supermarket buckled, Xinhua reported.
In the coastal city of Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower suffered severe damages.
Residents in Manta said that many streets had cracked, power lines had snapped and telephone connections were down.
Reports say a big oil refinery had been temporarily shut as a precaution, BBC said.
Neighbouring Peru also issued a tsunami alert for its northern coastline.
The quake was felt in Colombia, where patients in a clinic in the city of Cali were evacuated from the building as a precaution.
Ecuador is located in a region with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
41 killed in powerful 7.8-magnitude quake in Ecuador
At least 41 people were killed as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador, the media reported on Sunday.
The toll from Saturday's earthquake has risen to 41, Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas said on Sunday. It will "unfortunately rise in the coming hours."
The government has declared a nationwide state of emergency and activated its Emergency Operations Committee, which is tasked with coordinating emergency services, Xinhua reported.
The quake which occurred at 18.58 (local time) was centred just off the country's northwest coast at a shallow depth of 19 km, according to the US Geological Survey, which originally put the quake at a magnitude of 7.4 and then raised it to 7.8.
Ecuador's Institute of Geophysics put the magnitude at 6.5 and the depth at 10 km.
In the capital city of Quito, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds and people fled to the streets in panic.
In the biggest port city of Guayaquil, an overline bridge collapsed on top of a car and the roof of a supermarket buckled.
In the coastal city of Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower suffered severe damages.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said hazardous tsunami waves are possible for some coasts.
Ecuador is located in a region with frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.