(dpa) -
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook the Pacific coast
regions of Guatemala and El Salvador in the early hours of Tuesday.
The quake caused power cuts and problems in the telephone network, although no
one was injured, according to officials quoted in early reports.
Eddy Sanchez, director of Guatemala's Seismological Institute, said the quake's
epicentre was 108 kilometres from the Pacific coast at Escuintla, Guatemala.
Earlier data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the quake
measured 6.1 on the Richter scale. The USGS said the centre of the quake was
some 80 kilometres under the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
In February 1976, a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale left some 35,000
people dead in Guatemala. More recently, in January and February 2001, two
quakes left over 1,150 dead in El Salvador.
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