Earthquake survivors in Ecuador struggle without food and basic aid

Survivors of an earthquake that killed 570 people and shattered Ecuador’s coast clamoured for food, water and medicine on Thursday as aid failed to reach some of the remotest parts of the quake zone.

 

President Rafael Correa’s socialist government, facing a mammoth rebuilding task at a time of slashed oil revenues in the Opec nation, said there was no lack of aid – just problems with distribution that should be quickly resolved.

 

“We’re trying to survive. We need food,” said Galo García, 65, a lawyer, waiting in line for water from a truck sent to the beachside village of San Jacinto. “There’s nothing in the shops. We’re eating the vegetables we grow.”

 

A crowd nearby chanted: “We want food.”

 

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