UPDATED: Death toll in Mexican quake rises to 32

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck Mexico has risen to 32 , the governor of the southern state of Oaxaca said Friday .

Alejandro Murat told local television that 17 of the deaths were recorded in the southeastern town of Juchitan.

In Juchitan “there are collapsed houses with people inside ,” Luis Felipe , the federal civil protection coordinator, told Televisa TV .

The neighboring state of Chiapas reported seven people dead .

Authorities have warned that the death toll could rise in the southern area of Tabasco , where two children were killed.

The quake hit offshore in the Pacific at 11 : 49 pm (0449 GMT ) about 100 kilometers (60 miles ) from the coastal town of Tonala in far southern Chiapas state, Mexico’ s seismologic service said.

AFP