Death Toll in Mexico Quake Put at 2

The death toll rose to two Wednesday from a strong earthquake that damaged buildings and sparked widespread panic in an area devastated by a major temblor four years ago, officials said.

Alfonso Masin, chief spokesman for the Mexico City government, said an unidentified person died of a heart attack during Tuesday’s quake, raising the death toll to at least two.

Authorities earlier reported that a 25-year-old man was electrocuted when a high-voltage power line fell on him in the capital’s central Santa Maria Ribera neighborhood.

Repair crews worked to patch up a damaged aqueduct and replace shattered windows throughout Mexico City and Acapulco, which were rattled Tuesday by the quake with a magnitude of 6.8.

Masin said that 33 people sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment in the capital, but that all had been released.

The 8:29 a.m. earthquake caused relatively minor damage, cracking walls and knocking out some electrical and water service. The city’s subway, designed to stop automatically during seismic activity, briefly suspended service.

But power blackouts, gas leaks and telephone line breaks were reported in the central portion of the city that was badly damaged in the September, 1985, earthquake that killed about 10,000 people. Memories of the 1985 quake remain strong in Mexico City.

The quake was centered about 200 miles southwest of the capital and 40 miles east of Acapulco.