Powerful quake in Mexico, 11 injured

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southwest Mexico, injuring 11 people, damaging hundreds of homes and sending panicked residents out onto the streets of the capital.

The quake struck yesterday south of the Pacific resort of Acapulco, between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, and was followed by several aftershocks, the US Geological Survey said. Initially it had estimated the magnitude at 7.9.

Interior Minister Alejandro Poire said 11 people had been injured, two of them seriously, without providing further details.

Guerrero governor Angel Aguirre told state radio that some 1,600 houses in four municipalities of the coastal region known as the Costa Chica had been damaged.

He said that authorities were checking schools and public buildings around Ometepec, a town of 20,000 nearest the epicentre.

Many houses showed signs of damage in Ometepec, while patients at the main hospital were evacuated into a garden, including women in labour.

The White House said President Barack Obama's 13-year-old daughter Malia, who is on vacation in Mexico, was safe.

"In light of today's earthquake, we can confirm that Malia Obama is safe and was never in danger," said Kristina Schake, spokeswoman for First Lady Michelle Obama.

In Mexico City, buildings swayed, telephone and power lines were cut off and traffic lights stopped working as office workers rushed onto the streets.