Lima.- At least six people died and more than 30 were injured by the 5.1 magnitude earthquake, and a subsequent 3.7 aftershock, which struck the province of Chupaca, in the Junín region, in the central highlands of Peru, during the night this Saturday, official sources reported this Sunday.
The National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci) indicated in its latest report that there were six fatalities, while Peru’s Deputy Minister of Health, Henry Rebaza, told Canal N that 26 injured people have already been discharged after receiving medical attention and another six remain hospitalized.
Read more: Death toll from the double earthquake in Venezuela rises to 5,069
Rebaza pointed out that these figures are part of the initial damage reports from the impact caused by the earthquakes in Chupaca, with the greatest impact in the Chongos Bajo district, where the fatalities occurred and where “numerous affected structures” have also been reported, as he noted.
“All areas involved in this problem are being monitored, the most important thing is health; we are also monitoring the damage,” he added before stating that a specialized team from the city of Huancayo, the capital of Junín, was the first to arrive at the area.
The vice minister added that in Chupaca there are about one hundred health personnel, including doctors, nurses, and local brigade members, and that more specialized personnel and a mobile hospital are being sent.
The Indeci report added, for its part, that in Chongos Bajo there was damage to homes and health facilities, as well as to electrical power transmission and tourist infrastructure.
The first seismic movement, with a magnitude of 5.1, was recorded at 21:24 hours on Saturday (2:24 GMT on Sunday), with its epicenter located 7 kilometers south of Chongos Bajo and at a depth of 24 kilometers, while 17 minutes later an aftershock of magnitude 3.7 was reported, with an epicenter 14 kilometers south of the same location and at a depth of 18 kilometers.
More Read
Most of the damage was concentrated in that district, where the fatalities were recorded, while the injured were reported by the Daniel Alcides Carrión National Hospital in the Center, in Huancayo, which also recorded damage to its facilities.
It was also reported that there was damage to the El Carmen Regional Maternal and Child Hospital in Huancayo, that the cross of the Cani Cruz de Chongos Alto, a religious stone monument, collapsed, and that there were landslides at the Old Convent of Santiago de León.
