Major earthquake rocks Ecuador, killing at least 41

Ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades, a 7.8-magnitude tremor, struck off the country'sPacific coast on Saturday, killing at least 41 people and causing damage near the epicentreas well as in the largest city, Guayaquil.

President Rafael Correa declared a national emergency and urged the Andean country's 16 million people to stay calm.

"Our infinite love to the families of the dead," he said on Twitter, while cutting short a trip to Italy to return home.

Authorities urged people to evacuate coastal areas for fear of rising tides. Alarmed residents streamed into the streets of the highland capital, Quito, hundreds of kilometres away, and other towns across the country.

The government said the death toll would likely rise and damages were "serious,"especially in the western coastal areas nearest the quake and inGuayaquil.

"Unfortunately, up to the moment there are 41 citizens who have lost their lives," said Vice-President JorgeGlas, noting that it was the strongest quake to hit Ecuador since 1979.

The quake struck early evening at a depth of 20 kilometresand was felt all around the country.

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Guayaquil Mayor Jaime Nebot, who was travelling in Spain, said on his Facebook page he would co-ordinate recovery operations from where he was.

Official details on the damage to Guayaquil, a frequent departure point for foreign tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands made famous by Charles Darwin, were slow to emerge.

Social media pictures showed a collapsed bridge in the city and minor damage to the lobby of a hotel, as well as images of a collapsed control tower at an airport in the city of Manta.

"I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I don't know what's going to happen," said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications worker in Quito.