PEDERNALES, Ecuador (AFP) – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador yesterday, sowing new panic four days after a more powerful quake killed more than 525 people, with hundreds still missing.

The latest quake struck just off the coastal town of Muisne in northwestern Ecuador. No new damage or casualties were immediately reported,

AFP journalists in the region said.

But tremors still jolted nerves even as rescue workers continued pulling bodies from the rubble of Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake, Ecuador’s worst in nearly 40 years.

The death toll from that quake crossed a new threshold as officials reported 525 deaths in the western province of Manabi alone – not including at least two deaths in the southwestern province of Guayas.

The previous toll given by officials was 480 deaths and some 1,700 missing.

Officials warned the toll was likely to rise further as emergency workers combed the mangled rubble, often by hand or with basic tools.

At least 11 foreigners were killed in Saturday’s quake, which struck a coastal region popular with tourists. They included citizens of Britain, Canada, Ireland and several Latin American countries.

Ecuadoran authorities called the latest quake an aftershock.

The US Geological Survey said it struck at 0833 GMT at a depth of 15.7 kilometres (9.8 miles). It placed the epicentre 25 kilometres west of Muisne.