Peruvian Civil Defence authorities on Friday increased to 445 the official death toll from the country's worst earthquake in 37 years, and put the official number of injured as high as 1,008, according to DPA. The latest report includes a small increase from the figure of 437 dead that was made public Thursday and remains below unofficial estimates. Peruvian firefighters have said that at least 510 people were killed and 1,500 injured in Wednesday's devastating earthquake. Aristides Mussio, head of operations of Peru's Civil Defence, said new figures from the Andean regions of Ayacucho and Huancavelica bring the number of collapsed buildings up to 16,879. But that figure does not include the province of Pisco, in the Ica region, which was most affected by the quake, so the total figure could rise to more than 30,000, he said. On Friday, a 5.5-magnitude aftershock tremor again caused panic in Lima and in the Ica region. No further damage had been reported. There have been nearly 400 aftershocks since Wednesday's 8.0 magnitude quake. More than 85,000 Peruvians were made homeless in the worst-hit region, Ica, and in Lima itself. Rescue teams were still searching for survivors under the rubble, while the worst-hit cities were still without water and electricity supplies Friday.
