More than 100 people were injured Monday after a strong earthquake in southern Peru, Peruvian civil defence authorities said. Most of the injured however had only slight wounds. "There is only one case, a broken pelvis, which we regard as more serious. All the others have been blows, cuts, bruises, as people moved in desperation to leave their homes (or) fell down the stairs," dpa quoted Cesar Chonate, head of Civil Defence in Ica, as saying. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake happened shortly after midnight (0500 GMT) and reached magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale. It sprung from a depth of almost 40 kilometres and had its epicentre about 15 kilometres south-east of the city of Ica. Ica lies about 260 kilometres south of the capital, Lima. Some nine hours later, there was an aftershock that reached 4.1 on the Richter scale and had its epicentre 22 kilometres south-east of Ica. The injured were taken to local hospitals and most of them were soon discharged.
