Peru death toll rises to 510

Lima: The death toll in Peru's magnitude-8 earthquake has risen to 510 as the nation prepares for three days of mourning.

Doctors are still struggling to help the more than 1,500 injured, including hundreds who are waiting on cots in the open air, in fear of further aftershocks which could send the structures crashing down.

Destruction was centered in Peru's southern desert, at the oasis city of Ica and the nearby port of Pisco, about 125 miles southeast of the capital, Lima.

The deputy chief of Peru's fire department, Roberto Ognio, presented a report saying the death toll from the quake had risen to 510.

The San Clemente church in the main plaza of the gritty fishing port of Pisco was perhaps the single deadliest spot in the magnitude-8 earthquake, which devastated cities and hamlets of adobe and brick across Peru's southern desert.

The church ceiling began to break apart as the shaking began and lasted for an agonizing two minutes, burying 200 people, according to the town's mayor.