115 confirmed dead in Peru earthquake

A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Peru’s coast near the capital, toppling buildings, setting off landslides and killing at least 115 people and injuring more than 700 others, Deputy Health Minister Jose Calderon said today.

Speaking on television and radio, Calderon called the situation “dramatic” in Ica, a city of 650,000 people 165 miles south-east of the capital Lima.