At least six dead in earthquake in the Andes

 

TT 

Published 15:56Updated 18:46

 

A three-wheeled moped is stuck in the rubble after a building collapsed in an earthquake in Pumpya, Peru, on Sunday night. Photo: Jhefry Sedano /AP/TT

An earthquake has claimed at least six lives in central Peru on Sunday night, according to authorities.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5 and occurred in the Andes about 200 kilometers east of the capital Lima, according to the European earthquake monitor EMSC.

At least six people have died and more than 30 have been injured, the Spanish news agency EFE reports, citing the Peruvian civil defense. All the deaths were in the province of Chupaca.

Extensive damage to buildings is reported from the Chongos Bajo area near the epicenter of the earthquake and from the provincial capital Huancayo. Among other things, hospitals and religious monuments have been damaged.

Peru is located in the so-called Ring of Fire, an area of ​​intense seismic and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean.