Derry nun Sister Crockett among Peru earthquake death toll

A nun from Derry, Sister Clare Theresa Crockett has been named as one of more than 270 people who died in an earthquake in Ecuador at the weekend.

Sister Crockett, from Derry, was based at a school in Playa Prieta with the Home of the Mother order.

The nun was teaching children how to play guitar when the quake struck and she died trying to usher the youngsters to safety.

A member of Sister Crockett’s family told the Derry Journal: “It is unbelievable. She has been a missionary for 15 years and been all over the world doing her work.

“She died as she lived, helping people. She had a real dedication to her faith and we are all very proud of her.

“We are also devastated by her loss. She was always a diamond of the whole family.”

President Rafael Correa said he expects the death toll to climb in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.8 quake on Saturday.

“Ecuador has been hit tremendously hard… This is the greatest tragedy in the last 67 years,” said a shaken President Rafael Correa, who rushed back to Ecuador from a visit to Italy.

“There are signs of life in much of the rubble and that is the priority,” Mr Correa said in a TV address to 16 million viewers.

Up to 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being dispatched to the quake zone.

The town of Pedernales, near the epicentre, has been worst hit.