AT LEAST one person was killed and five injured as central Peru was struck by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake on Sunday, authorities said.
The epicentre of the quake, which happened near noon local time, was located 14 miles south-west of Callao, west of the capital Lima.
A man died in northern Lima after a wall from the fourth floor of a building under construction detached and fell on him, Police Colonel Ramiro Clauco told RPP radio.
The five people injured are being treated in hospitals, the Emergency Operations Centre said. The agency also reported damage to roads and educational centres.
Footage shared by local media also showed cars hit by falling debris, damaged houses and collapsed billboards.
All of Lima’s districts felt the earthquake, Hernando Tavera, executive president of the Geophysical Institute of Peru, told local TV, Channel N.
Local radio stations reported that a professional football match at Lima’s Alberto Gallardo Stadium was paused for several minutes.
A mass at Lima’s cathedral was also interrupted, after frightened worshippers fled the scene.
Peru is located on the “ring of fire,” a path along the Pacific Ocean characterised by frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes.
