Deaths reported after strong earthquake 50 miles south of Ecuador’s second city

Magnitude 6.7 tremors hit coastal Guayas area in province whose capital is Guayaquil, causing at least four people to lose their lives

A strong earthquake shook the region around Ecuador’s second-largest city on Saturday, killing at least four people, damaging homes and buildings, and sending panicked residents into the streets.

The US Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 in the country’s coastal Guayas region. Its centre was about 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Guayaquil, which has a metropolitan area of more than 3 million people.