At least five people were killed and 21 injured after two earthquakes struck a mountainous region of Peru, the country's civil defence chief said Sunday.
The quakes, measuring magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7, hit on Saturday night in Chupaca province in the Junín region, about 300km (186 miles) east of Lima, according to Peru's National Seismological Centre in a post on X.
The first quake struck at a depth of 24km (15 miles) and the second at 18km, the centre said.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre earlier reported that the first earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6.
"So far, we have confirmed five deaths and 21 injuries," Luis Vasquez, head of Peru's National Civil Defence Institute, told local radio station Exitosa.
Because the epicentre was at a shallow depth and many houses in that area are made of adobe or a wood, cane and mud blend called "quincha", some towns suffered significant damage, said Vasquez.
He added that preliminary reports showed about 48 homes had been destroyed and another 18 damaged, affecting around 300 people who are being provided with tents.
"The earthquake destroyed our home. Here there are many adobe houses that collapsed," an unnamed resident of the town of Chongos Bajo told the N television network.
Vasquez said emergency crews and firefighters arrived in the affected areas early Sunday to clear debris amid concerns that additional victims could be trapped.
Peru lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone that accounts for roughly 85% of the world's seismic activity.
Seismologists say Peru experiences at least 400 earthquakes per year, three-quarters of which are so weak people do not feel them.
