A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck southern Mexico's Pacific coast on Tuesday, killing at least six people and seriously injuring others in isolated villages while causing damage to buildings hundreds of miles away in Mexico City.
The fatalities were near the quake's center in Oaxaca, a mountainous state known for its coffee, mescal, and Spanish colonial architecture.
A Reuters witness in the state's Pacific coast resort town of La Crucecita, which Mexican authorities said was the epicenter of the earthquake, saw anxious residents standing outside their homes hours after the tremor as they feared deadly aftershocks.
Houses were scarred by wide cracks across walls and residents sought to clear debris from the streets. About 200 houses in the area were damaged, including 30 that were badly impacted, a local official said.