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Mexican quake death toll rises to 29Authorities search rubble for more victims
MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- Five more people were reported dead Thursday after a powerful earthquake struck west-central Mexico late Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 29, according to Mexican emergency officials. The quake, which U.S. experts estimated to be a magnitude of 7.8, hit the agricultural state of Colima the hardest. It was under a state of emergency Wednesday as authorities sifted through the ruins of buildings looking for additional victims. Mexico's emergency management agency reported 26 victims in the state of Colima at the epicenter of the quake, two in Jalisco state and one in Michoacan state. More than 160 people were injured. (Map) At least 20 of the those who died in Colima were killed by collapsed buildings, and the two victims in Jalisco died of a heart attack, Mexican Red Cross spokeswoman Gisela Casrin said. Many people in Colima live in fragile, adobe houses. Real estate broker Edgar Messina said there was "heavy damage in downtown Colima" and "a lot of houses have fallen down." Authorities were trying to fan out in small villages around Colima but have been hampered by damaged bridges. The Mexican government dispatched small aircraft to remote areas to assess damage. Residents throughout Colima reported power outages. Mexico's director of emergency management for the Civil Protection Agency, Carlos Gelista, said landslides had knocked out utilities in some areas. $2 million reconstruction fund announcedPresident Vicente Fox visited parts of Colima on Wednesday, and federal authorities announced the establishment of a $2 million reconstruction fund to help the hardest-hit areas rebuild.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered near the Pacific Coast around Colima, about 30 miles east-southeast of the city of Manzanillo. It struck at 8:06 p.m. (9:06 p.m. EST) Tuesday. Shock waves were felt in Mexico City, some 300 miles from the epicenter. In the capital city, buildings swayed, and residents gathered in the streets as a precaution. There were reported power outages in the city. The U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday's quake was the worst in the area since a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in October 1995 that killed at least 49 people and caused extensive damage in Colima and Jalisco.
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