Quake death toll rises to 600

The death toll in the El Salvador earthquake has risen to 600.

As information comes in from the countryside, where hundreds of communities remain isolated, police say 594 bodies have been counted in El Salvador, with at least six more in Guatemala.

Salvadoran police say 1,830 people were injured and nearly 34,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in Saturday's 7.6-magnitude quake.

With the ground settling, rescuers say the chance of finding survivors is slipping - although one man was freed after using his mobile phone to call for help.

After two days of rescue efforts, Sergio Moreno was pulled from beneath a pile of cinder blocks and earth, raising hopes that more may be found alive. But kidney and heart failure have left Moreno fighting for his life.

Hundreds of people remain buried beneath a mountain of rock and earth in the Las Colinas neighbourhood.

The earthquake loosened a hillside, burying the middle-class neighbourhood at its base and bringing down some of the mansions above.

Although the largest number of deaths appeared to be in Las Colinas, the quake caused landslides across El Salvador, burying coffee workers and blocking roads.

Police say nearly 18,000 people have been evacuated.

The World Food Programme is distributing food to 13,000 people and says it has enough to last two weeks.

Irish aid agencies Trocaire and Goal are continuing to work on the ground, where they have been distributing food, blankets, plastic sheets and food to survivors.

Yesterday the Government announced it was sending £400,000 to help with the relief effort. It is being distributed to the agencies to support their work. The announcement was made by Minister of State Liz O’Donnell who said there was a need for an urgent response.

Minister O’Donnell has also written to her counterpart in El Salvador saying Ireland is willing to help in any long-term recovery programmes in the wake of the disaster.