Hundreds killed in Ecuador earthquake
More than 500 people were killed and thousands homeless after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, destroying buildings and a bridge and sending terrified residents scrambling from their homes, April 17, 2016. Rescuers are in a race against time to find survivors as the death toll rises.
Picture shows the destruction in Manta, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016, a day after the quake hit the country.
Story on CBS News:Rare stories of survival emerge after killer Ecuador earthquake
Ecuador quake
Relatives mourn the loss of their family members, victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, during a funeral service in Portoviejo, Ecuador, Monday, April 18, 2016.
The Saturday night quake left a trail of ruin along Ecuador's normally placid Pacific Ocean coast.
President Rafael Correa said early Monday that the death toll would "surely rise, and in a considerable way."
Ecuador quake damage
Aerial view of Pedernales, one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, taken on April 19, 2016 three days after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country.
Some 1,700 people are still missing three days after a big earthquake struck Ecuador, an official said Tuesday, raising fears that a death toll currently put at more than 500 could dramatically rise.
Ecuador quake
A soldier writes an ID number on the arm of a man lining up to get food aid in Manta, Ecuador on April 19, 2016.
Three days after the powerful 7.8-magnitude quake struck Ecuador's Pacific coast in a zone popular with tourists, the National Prosecutor's Office put the death toll at 525.
Ecuador quake
Damaged buildings are seen after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake victims
Injured people are evacuated on a military airplane from the air base in Manta, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016, three days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
Searching for survivors
Rescuers search for victims buried under the rubble in Pedernales, Ecuador on April 19, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescue members and volunteers take a break from rescue work in Pedernales, after the earthquake which struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescuers search for victims buried under the rubble in Pedernales, Ecuador on April 19, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescuers recover the body of a dead child from the rubble in Pedernales, one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, on April 18, 2016 two days after a quake hit the country.
Rescuers and desperate families clawed through the rubble Monday to pull out survivors of the earthquake that killed at least 400 people and destroyed towns in a tourist area of Ecuador.
Ecuador quake
Rescue members and volunteers take a break from rescue work in Pedernales, after the earthquake which struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
.Relatives mourn the loss of their family members during a funeral service in Portoviejo, Ecuador, Monday, April 18, 2016.
The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades flattened buildings and buckled highways along its Pacific coast, sending the Andean nation into a state of emergency.
Ecuador quake
A man, his home destroyed by the earthquake, sleeps in his uncle's boat docked along the shore, in La Chorrera, Ecuador, Monday, April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
View of a fallen building after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Portoviejo, Ecuador on April 17, 2016.
The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades flattened buildings and buckled highways along its Pacific coast, sending the Andean nation into a state of emergency.
Ecuador quake
A woman cries in one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, Pedernales, on April 18, 2016, two days after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country.
Rescuers and desperate families clawed through the rubble Monday to pull out survivors of the earthquake that killed at least 400 people and destroyed towns in a tourist area of Ecuador.
Ecuador quake
People remain near rubble after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Portoviejo, Ecuador on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Aerial view of Pedernales, one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, taken on April 18, 2016 two days after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country.
Ecuador quake
People rest in front of a destroyed house in Manta, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016 a day after a powerful 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country.
Ecuador quake
Survivors of the quake await for news from relatives amid the rubble in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador on April 19, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A vehicle rolls on a cracked route after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Chone, Ecuador on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Ecuadorian military and civilians perform cleanup and rescue operations on the streets of Portoviejo on April 18, 2016 following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador.
Ecuador quake
A family rests along Bahia de Caraquez following the earthquake in Ecuador. April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
People queue for water in Jama, in the Ecuadorean coastal province of Manabi, on April 18, 2016 two days after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country on April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa (R) embraces a resident after the earthquake, which struck off the Pacific coast, in the town of Canoa, Ecuador, April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Crumbled structures are strewn on the streets of Portoviejo on April 18, 2016, following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake.
Ecuador quake
Aerial view of Pedernales, one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, taken on April 18, 2016 two days after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country.
Ecuador quake
Rescuers work amid the rubble in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador on April 19, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescuers pause as they search for earthquake victims amidst the rubble in Manta on April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescuers help the relative (2nd R) of an earthquake victim as they walk amidst the rubble in Manta on April 18, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A firefighter walks past a collapsed building after an earthquake struck off the Pacific coast, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, April 17, 2016.
Rescue teams pulled a woman, trapped under a fallen roof, Sunday, April 17. Several other survivors, including a small child, were saved from a five-story building that collapsed.
Ecuador quake
People react after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Police officers carry the body of a victim after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
People stand on the debris of a building after an earthquake struck off the Pacific coast in Manta, April 16, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A view of rubble after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Portoviejo on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Injured people are attended to at the Rafael Rodriguez Zambrano Hospital after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast in Manta on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A collapsed home is seen following an earthquake in the city of Guayaquil on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
People seek safety in a park after an earthquake in the city of Guayaquil on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Rescue workers pull out survivors from a collapsed building after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, in the city of Manta early on April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Military officers observe a damaged sculpture at the Eloy Alfaro airport, after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Volunteers retrieve a body from a destroyed house after a massive earthquake in Pedernales, Sunday, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A woman cries as she stands next to house destroyed by the earthquake in the Pacific coastal town of Pedernales, Sunday, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A police officer retrieves the body of a victim after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
A woman reacts after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.
Ecuador quake
Firemen search through debris after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, in the Tarqui neighborhood of Manta, April 17, 2016.