Government officials in Ecuador are now reporting 525 deaths were caused by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the Pacific coast on April 16—but they fear the tally could climb much higher, since as many as 1,700 are still listed as missing, and recovery efforts have just begun. The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades tore up highways and knocked down hundreds of buildings in communities along the coast. Rescuers are still hoping to find survivors amid the rubble who may have been trapped for days—more than 50 have already been rescued since Saturday.
1,700 People Are Still Missing After Ecuador's Earthquake
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With the help of trained dogs, rescue workers in the city of Manta, in Manabí Province, search on April 17, 2016, through the rubble for survivors of the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Ecuador on Saturday. #
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Pablo Rafael Cordova Canizares shakes hands with one of the Colombian firefighters who rescued him, at the Verdi Cevallos Hospital in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 18, 2016. The 51-year-old hotel administrator was one of a trickle of survivors pulled from the rubble after Ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades flattened towns along the coast and killed hundreds. #
Emilio D. Garcia / AP -
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Edith Mero nurses her broken arm as she stands in front of her collapsed house in Estancia Las Palmas, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016. Edith's husband died and she was injured during the earthquake. #
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Maria Victoria, 89, is comforted by her daughter Mariana in Estancia Las Palmas, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016. Maria Victoria was injured when a column fell on her after 7.8-magnitude earthquake collapsed her home. #
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Scarlett Macias comforts her father Hercor Macias during the funeral of her mother Valentina Arteaga, who died inside her house during the earthquake, in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 18, 2016. “Daddy, don't cry. I told you, you do not have to mourn,” Scarlett said to her father minutes after the funeral. #
Rodrigo Abd / AP
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