Mexico City: Two people caught in this week`s big earthquake died on Thursday, the first deaths reported from the 7.4-magnitude temblor that damaged hundreds of homes in southern Mexico and caused panic far off in the national capital.
Salvador Cruz Castro, mayor of the Cuajinicuilapa municipality in Guerrero state, said one of the victims died from injuries caused by a wall falling on him and the other died of complications for a heart attack suffered during the quake.
Tuesday`s earthquake was centred near the border between the southern states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. It caused about 60 houses to collapse and damaged about 800 more homes.
The quake was one of the strongest in Mexico since an 8.1-magnitude temblor killed an estimated 10,000 people in Mexico City in 1985.
Aftershocks, including a moderate 5.2-magnitude shake, rattled central Mexico on Thursday. The US Geological Survey said the aftershocks were centred in the same area as Tuesday` strong quake.
They were felt 200 miles (320 kilometres) away in Mexico City, where people remained nervous and some officer workers briefly evacuated buildings after the strong aftershock. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard wrote in his Twitter account that no major damage had been reported from the 5.2-magnitude aftershock.
USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso said aftershocks can occur weeks, months or even years after a large quake like Tuesday`s.
Bureau Report
