DHAKA: An earthquake described by Mexico's president as the country's strongest in a century has struck off the southern coast, killing at least 33 people.

The quake, which President Enrique Peña Nieto said measured 8.2, struck in the Pacific, about 87km (54 miles) south-west of Pijijiapan, reports the BBC.

Severe damage has been reported in Oaxaca and Chiapas states.

A tsunami warning was initially issued for Mexico and other nearby countries, but later lifted.

The quake, which struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), was felt hundreds of miles away in Mexico City, with buildings swaying and people running into the street. The tremors there were reported to have lasted up to a minute.

President Peña Nieto said about 50 million Mexicans would have felt the tremor and that the death toll might rise.

Twenty-three people are reported dead in Mexico's Oaxaca state, 17 of them in the town of Juchitán, state Governor Alejandro Murat said.

Another seven people were reported killed in Chiapas and two children died in Tabasco state, one a baby who died when power was cut to a respirator.

At least one person was killed in Guatemala, its president has said.

Social media images showed collapsed buildings in Oaxaca, including in the city of the same name, and in Juchitán, where the municipal palace and a number of other structures were destroyed or badly damaged.

A hospital in Juchitán is reported to have collapsed and people there are trapped in the rubble of their homes, officials said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had originally said that tsunami waves of more than 3m (9ft) were possible along the coasts of Mexico, with threats also facing El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. It said later that waves only 0.7m high reached the Mexican coast.

Some coastal areas were evacuated as a precaution.

The earthquake has brought back memories of the tremor of 1985, which left massive destruction in Mexico City and a death toll of 10,000.

BDST: 2155 HRS, SEP 8, 2017
AP