Portoviejo (Ecuador): The biggest earthquake in Ecuador in decades has killed 350 people and overwhelmed rescuers struggle to pull survivors out of the destruction.
<img title="elderly woman" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2016/apr/elderly-woman.jpg" alt="elderly woman" /> An elderly woman inside her partially destroyed home in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Pic/AFP
The 7.8-magnitude quake struck the small, oil-producing South American nation late Saturday. More than 2,000 people were injured as structures tumbled during the quake or its dozens of aftershocks.
In Portoviejo, a city 15 kilometers from the coast, the temblor knocked down walls in a prison, helping 100 inmates to escape. Some were recaptured or returned, but police were hunting the others, Justice Minister Ledy Zuniga tweeted. Elsewhere in hard-hit Portoviejo, the stench of decaying bodies began to fill the tropical air as rescuers raced to find survivors.
&ldquo;We have already recovered three dead bodies and we believe there are up to 11 people still trapped,&rdquo; said one worker digging through the debris of what used to be a six-story hotel called El Gato.
Officials have declared a state of emergency in the worst-hit provinces, and a national state of &ldquo;exception&rdquo; to suspend certain civil rights and liberties to allow security forces to react faster.

The biggest earthquake in Ecuador,&nbsp;which killed 350 people, also knocked down a prison&rsquo;s walls in&nbsp;Portoviejo,&nbsp;helping many inmates to escape

Ecuador quake: 100 prisoners escape

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Ecuador quake: 100 prisoners escape

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