DEATH ROLL IN ECUADOR

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25878, 10 August 1949, Page 7

DEATH ROLL IN ECUADOR

Between 4500 And 5000_Killed EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE

(Rec. 10 p.m.) NEW YORK, Aug. S. The death roll in the earthquake which struck Ecuador on Friday was between 4500 and 5000, said an official of the Ecuador Embassy in Washington to-day. More bodies were being found constantly as relief parties dug in the debris of the wrecked towns and it would be several days before a definite figure could be released for urban areas and probably some weeks before a complete count would be possible because many villages were completely cut off by damaged roads and bridges. Reuter’s Quito correspondent says: “The Ambato area is a nightmare of destruction. Indians’ straw-thatched mud huts on the outskirts of Ambato are crushed as if a giant had walked over them. About 75 per cent, of the buildings in the city have been destroyed or will have to be razed because of their dangerous condition. Ambato’s squares and parks are filled with people who fled from their homes. Aeroplanes are constantly shuttling back and -forth bringing in medical relief and supplies and evacuating the injured to other centres. “The worst destruction was in the Patate and Pastaza valleys. In the town of Pelileo, which was completely destroyed, the earth gaped open swallowing street upon street of houses. Survivors fled to the hills and no one knows how many are buried in the ruins. Rescuers reaching Pelileo on Saturday heard shrieks coming from the debris and found some villagers feeding buried victims through holes they had dug in the ruins, but to-day the stench has driven away all survivors.

“What happened further down the valley is still a matter of conjecture.” the correspondent says. “Other villages. of which the biggest is Patate, still cannot be reached. A large hill crashed down into the Patate river, blocking it completely, but engineers hesitate to use dynamite for fear that the sudden rush of accumulated water will destroy villages, plantations, and bridges further downstream. The waters are rising slowly and the people are praying that no greater disaster may befall them.” The destruction in the earthquake might total 50.000,000 dollars, said Mr Miguel Albornoz. secretary to the President of Ecuador (Senor Galo Plaza). “It is impossible to tell the exact total of deaths until we begin large-scale digging in the ruing of the towns and this is made difficult because we lack bulldozers and other machinery. The task is too monumental to be tackled with picks and shovels,” he said.

In Guayaquil, officials said that the death roll had reached 9240.