Strongest earthquake in Mexico in 85 years kills 61 people.

247 with Reuters - At least 61 people died, more than 200 were injured and, as of Friday night (8), 459 aftershocks had been recorded, the largest with a magnitude of 6,1, when the strongest earthquake to hit Mexico in more than eight decades destroyed buildings, forced mass evacuations and triggered alerts as far as Southeast Asia.

The magnitude 8,1 earthquake that struck the southern coast on Thursday night was stronger than a devastating 1985 tremor that tore apart parts of Mexico City and killed thousands.

This time the damage to the city was limited, as the tremor was deeper and further from the capital, but still shocking.

The city of Juchitán, in the state of Oaxaca, near the epicenter, was particularly hard hit, and sections of the city hall, a hotel, a bar, and other buildings were reduced to rubble.

"The situation in Juchitán is critical; this is the most terrible moment in our history," said Mayor Gloria Sánchez after the long earthquake, which also shook Guatemala and El Salvador.

Shocked residents waded through the rubble of some 100 collapsed buildings, including houses, a Volkswagen dealership, and the Juchitán city hall.

"Look what happened to my house," said Maria Magdalena López, in tears. "It was horrible, it collapsed."

All the deaths occurred in three neighboring states clustered around the epicenter. In Oaxaca, 45 people died, in Chiapas there were 12, and in Tabasco, three, said the head of Mexico's civil protection agency, Luis Felipe Puentes.

In Chiapas, home to many of Mexico's indigenous ethnic groups, thousands of people living on the coast were evacuated from their homes as a precaution when the earthquake triggered tsunami warnings.

At least 250 residents of Oaxaca were also injured, according to Agriculture Minister José Calzada.