Two dead as powerful 7.2 magnitude quake strikes Mexico

Two people are dead and a million homes and businesses are without power after a prolonged earthquake struck Mexico on Friday, just months after a pair of deadly quakes pummeled parts of the country last year.

The 7.2-magnitude quake struck at 5:39pm local time, making buildings sway and sending people running into the street. The epicentre was a southern, surfer town on the Pacific Coast, according to the US Geological Survey. but tremors were felt as far away as Guatemala. 

At least two people died when a helicopter carrying Mexico's interior minister and the governor of Oaxaca crashed while trying to land after a tour of damage from the earthquake, officials said. The senior officials survived.

Authorities said no deaths directly linked to the quake had been reported nationally.

Emergency warning systems were activated in Mexico City, some 348 kilometers (216 miles) from the centre of the quake. The seismic alarm sounded 72 seconds before tremors were felt, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said, giving residents time to flee to the streets.

Footage posted on social media showed lights swinging from ceilings in a shaking building in the city, while other videos showed people fleeing outside from their trembling offices. Buildings were seen swaying for more than a minute after the alarms sounded. 

Patricia Gutierrez, a 66-year-old English teacher, told Reuters she was taking a nap with her 11-month-old granddaughter, when she heard the alarm.

"She recognised the sound. When I opened my eyes, I saw her eyes in terror," Ms Gutierrez said of her granddaughter. "Her eyes were wide, like plates. She didn't say anything."

Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete tweeted that Oaxaca, Chiapas, Michoacán, Puebla and Mexico City had not reported any major damages thus far. Mexican Civil Protection chief Luis Felipe Fuente also said that there were no immediate reports of major damages from Friday's quake. ---Courtesy to Independent