A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Guatemala: at least two fatalities

Southwestern Guatemala has been struck by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).  The earthquake was strong killing two people, collapsing roofs and triggering landslides.

The quake was at a depth of 96 kilometres in the early hours of Wednesday, with the epicentre 16 km east of Tiquisate, Guatemala, EMSC said. Tiquisate is in a mostly poor region on the Central American nation's coastal planes.

Guatemala's disaster agency, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.8.

As of 8:30am local time, authorities had reported two fatalities, a woman in the city of Mixco, a western suburb of the capital, and a man in the highland city of Quetzaltenango. Both died of heart attacks, authorities said.

Images shared by the agency on social media showed rockfalls and uprooted trees blocking routes following the earthquake, including to Antigua, a colonial city popular with tourists.

The initial tremblor was followed by two aftershocks of above magnitude 4 in the region, according to EMSC.