At least two people have been killed in Mexico after a 6.8 magnitude tremor rattled the country overnight, terrifying residents of central and western areas and the capital, Mexico City.
In a series of updates overnight, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the tremor was an aftershock from Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake, which reportedly took the lives of two people.
Mr Obrador said “Unfortunately, two people lost their lives in Mexico City, according to the report by Claudia Sheinbaum, head of government,” in the latest earthquake and that there were no fatalities in the states of Colima, Jalisco and Guerrero. where the quake was also felt.
Residents of the western state of Michoacan were awoken at about 1am by the 6.8 magnitude tremor, which had a depth of about 15 miles (24.1km) below the surface and was centred in the town of Aguililla, the US Geological Survey said.
At least one of the two deaths in Mexico City was the result of a woman falling down the stairs of her home in panic, Mr Obrador was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Other residents of Mexico City were pictured huddled on the streets in the early hours of the morning, despite the epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake being more than 242 miles (390km) west of the capital in Anguililla, Michoacan.
On Thursday morning, the Michoacan state government said the quake had been felt throughout the state, with damage reported to a building in the city of Uruapan and some landslides reported on the highway that connects Michoacan and Guerrero with the coast, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake came just three days after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of western and central Mexico on Monday and a 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday.
Monday’s seismic even also came on the anniversary of two previous earthquakes that caused enormous damage and killed hundreds or thousands of people in 1985 and 2017.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
