At least 272 people have died after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the west coast of northern Ecuador on 16 April. The quake was the biggest to hit Ecuador in decades and has left at least 2,500 injured.

Footage from inside the San Marino Shopping Mall in Guayaquil, shortly after the tremors hit, shows chaotic scenes as locals run for cover. The mall was damaged in the quake, according to local reports. The earthquake was centred around 17 miles from the city of Muisne, but its impact was felt as far away as the capital, Quito.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami warning but cancelled it around three hours after the quake. Around 10,000 soldiers and 4,000 police are being deployed in the devastated areas via helicopter and buses. The worst-affected zone was the coastal Manabi Province, where about 200 people were killed, according to Ecuador's national emergency management office.

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