Photo from the Associated Press.
UPDATE: LDS Church news is now reporting that 10 members of the Church have lost their lives and thousands more have been left homeless.
In a news release from the Ecuador page of Mormon Newsroom, Church officials have confirmed six members died in the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the country on Saturday.
Fiver were from the Portoviejo Stake, where most of the reported 413 deaths are being reported from. Three of the six who passed were a local LDS Church leader, his wife, and his youngest daughter. The nature of their deaths has not been released. The news release also noted that at least a dozen chapels sustained extensive damage.
Deseret News provided the following translation of a statement from an unnamed local leader in Ecuador:
“This is the best time and opportunity to demonstrate the kind of Christians we are. This is the moment of empathy, to share, to mourn our dead, comfort their families, care for and heal the wounded, wipe away tears and start rebuilding our city and our lives. This is the time to do what Jesus expects us to do.”
In an earlier statement, all LDS missionaries serving in the country were accounted for and safe.
