A close call with death in Ecuador’s earthquake - Washington Post

PEDERNALES, Ecuador — If Maria Zambrano had stayed in the pharmacy a bit longer, gossiping with the girl behind the counter, she would be dead.

Zambrano, 61, had gone around the corner from the small stand where she sold costume jewelry, barrettes and sunglasses, to pick up some vitamins, leaving the shop not five minutes before a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador’s Pacific coast.

“As I left I said, ‘See you tomorrow. Have a good night,’ ” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks as she sat in a temporary shelter that she and some neighbors rigged up in the town square. Behind her, backhoes and rescue crews were combing the debris of the pharmacy for remains.

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