Death toll in Mexico quake rises to 61

The death toll from the powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico late Thursday night has risen to 61.

Another 200 people were injured, President Enrique Pena Nieto said, as he declared a national day of mourning. He called it the biggest earthquake to hit the country in a century.

The earthquake hit off the coast of Mexico, about a 100 kilometres from the coastal town of Tonala in far southern Chiapas state, Mexico's seismologic service said.

Rescue efforts are focussed on the worst-hit states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Oaxaca, where tens of thousands of emergency wwere sent to the worst-affected town of Juchitan.

Of the 45 deaths reported inOaxaca, at least 17 deaths have been reported in Juchitan.