An earthquake struck Guatemala before dawn Wednesday, killing two people and injuring a number of others, authorities said. Property damage also was reported in scattered parts of the country.
The temblor occurred shortly after 4 a.m. (MDT) and lasted about 10 seconds in the capital. It was followed by more than a dozen strong aftershocks.The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said the quake had a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale and was centered about 25 miles southwest of Guatemala City.
A house collapsed in the village of Las Canoas, 75 miles west of Guatemala City, the National Emergency Commission said in a news release. It identified the victims as Ana Tol, 40, and her 3-year-old son, Sergio Texahuits.
The commission said it also had preliminary reports of an undetermined number of people injured in the town of Pochuta, 80 miles southwest of the capital.
Radio reports said a rock slide blocked the highway from Guatemala City to Antigua, the old capital to the northwest.
Guatemala was devastated by an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale on Feb. 4, 1976, that killed 25,000 people and injured 100,000.