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Death toll in Mexico earthquake rises to 15

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Damage in the Mexican city of Oaxaca, about 300km from the epicentre

An earthquake described by Mexico’s president as the country’s strongest in a century has struck off the southern coast, killing at least 15 people.

The quake, which President Enrique Peña Nieto said measured 8.2, struck in the Pacific, about 87km (54 miles) south-west of Pijijiapan.

A tsunami warning was issued for Mexico, with three-metre-high waves possible, and other nearby countries.
Severe damage has been reported in Oaxaca and Chiapas states.

The quake, which struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), was felt in Mexico City, with buildings swaying and people running into the street. The tremors there, about 1,000km from the epicentre, were reported to have lasted up to a minute.

A collapsed building in the town of Matias Romero in Oaxaca state

President Peña Nieto said some 50 million Mexicans would have felt the tremor and that the death toll might rise.

Among the deaths were at least four in Chiapas. Two children were killed in Tabasco state, one a baby who died when power was cut to a respirator.

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One person also died in Guatemala, its president has said.

Social media images showed collapsed buildings in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, including in the city of the same name and in Juchitan, where the municipal palace and a number of other structures were levelled.

Local reports speak of a hospital in Juchitan also collapsing and say there are a number of deaths in the city.

Read more: BBC

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