Powerful earthquake kills at least 28 in Ecuador

Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas says at least 28 people have been killed in a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country's central coast.

Glas said Saturday in a televised address that the dead were located in the cities of Manta, Guayaquil and Portoviejo.

He said the earthquake was the strongest to hit Ecuador in decades.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the shallow quake was centered 27 kilometers (16 miles) south-southeast of Muisne, Ecuador, in a sparsely populated area of fishing ports popular with tourists.