President Rafeal Correa who was visiting Italy at the time of the quake had to rush back to Ecuador and adressed the nation.
"Ecuador has been hit tremendously hard. This is the greatest tragedy in the last 67 years.", a shaken Correa said.
In a televised address, the President confirmed a death toll of 272 and 2068 people injured and feared that the casualties might increase.
President Correa said that there were signs of life in the rubbles and that was the priority.
The quake came at a time Ecuador's economy is struggling due to the decline in price of oil.
In Portviejo, 180 kilometers south of Pedermales, about 130 inmates of El Rodeo prison escaped after the walls of the prison collapsed. 35 of them have been recaptured.
13,500 security force personnel have been deployed to maintain peace and order while $600million multilateral credit has been activated for emergency, the government said.
Photos: Reuters/Getty Images
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