Powerful quake in Mexico kills at least 61

Rescuers work after an earthquake in Juchitan of Oaxaca state Sept. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/David de la Paz)

A powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale struck off Mexico's southern coast late Thursday night, killing at least 61 people.

The epicenter of the quake is 96 km southwest of the town of Pijijiapan in the southern state of Chiapas, at a depth of 33 km.

The quake that hit minutes before midnight Thursday was strong enough to cause buildings to sway violently in the capital of Mexico City, where many people ran out of buildings to the streets.

There are no reports of Chinese casualties as of now, the Chinese Embassy in Mexico said.

"I was eating my night snack when the quake occurred. I rushed out to the street in panic to find over 100 people out there, many of whom were wearing pajamas. Electricity was cut off for about 20 minutes due to the earthquake. Many people drove their cars to open areas to sleep over the night," said Li Shizhan, who runs a restaurant in San Cristobal, Chiapas.

The powerful quake affected at least 50 million people in 12 states. The worst-hit city is Juchitan, in the southern state of Oaxaca, where at least 36 bodies were pulled from ruins, and a large number of buildings collapsed, including the city's town hall. Oaxaca is one of the three states near the quake epicenter off the coast.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday evening in a televised address that 61 people were killed -- 45 in Oaxaca state, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco.

In an address in the headquarters of the National Center for Disaster Prevention, where he was supervising the emergency response, the president said authorities were working to resume the supply of water and food and provide medical attention to those in need.

He vowed the government would help people rebuild and called on people to come together.

He then declared three days of national mourning, and the government also released lists of approved food and goods that people should bring to Red Cross emergency centers to help with relief efforts.

Mexico's civil defence chief Luis Felipe said on Twitter that the national emergency committee is in permanent session to coordinate responses to the massive quake.

The earthquake was stronger than a devastating 1985 temblor that killed thousands of people and destroyed large parts of the capital city.

The latest earthquake triggered waves as high as 2.3 feet (0.7 meters) in Mexico, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Mexico City mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told local media that there were electrical outages but no reports of building collapses or deaths.

Two major aftershocks were felt on Friday.