Death Toll From El Salvador Quake Nears 700

A R M E N I A, El Salvador, Jan. 17 -- Although 682 people had already lost their lives to this weekend's earthquake, it was the 683rd death that brought the sense of tragedy home to the shocked people of ElSalvador.

Sergio Moreno, a 22-year-old musician who was pulled alive fromthe rubble after spending 31 hours entombed under cinderblocks anddirt, died late Tuesday at a hospital.

His near-miraculous rescue had captured Salvadorans, providing aray of hope amid the despair. After calling for help from beneaththe rubble with a cellular phone, rescuers worked more than twodays to free him. But his heart and kidneys failed shortly after hewas rescued. Doctors revived him and later amputated his legs, butwere unable to save him.

Local television stations broke away from regular programming toreport his death.

A Ravaged Countryside

Even as signs emerged that everyday life was returning after theearthquake — lines snaked around the block at newly reopened banksin the capital — the isolated countryside largely stood still inhunger and mourning.

In Las Colinas today, a neighborhood near San Salvador that was buriedby a landslide, a few crews looked for bodies. But they worked more slowly, the sense of urgency gone with the hope of finding survivors.

Meanwhile, a magnitude-5 earthquake rattled nearby Nicaragua atabout 1 a.m. today, sending residents of the capital, Managua,running into the streets. The quake cracked walls and shookbuildings slightly, but no deaths or injuries were reported.

The death toll stood at 683 in El Salvador and six more inneighboring Guatemala. More than 2,500 people were injured andnearly 45,000 others were evacuated.

In many places, authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer numberof bodies. Many were buried in a long pit at the municipal cemeteryin Santa Tecla, the town where Las Colinas is located.

Marcela Pena, 31, remained at the spot where her house oncestood, looking for her 14-year-old daughter Betrisia. She said shehas been at the morgue and the cemetery to look for her, but hasn'tfound her.