SANTO DOMINGO, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 29 people were killed after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck Haiti on Saturday, causing collapse of buildings.

The director of the country's civil protection agency, Jerry Chandler, said that 17 of the deaths were registered in the department of Grand-Anse, nine in the city of Les Cayes, and three in the department of Nippes, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located.

The official said that due to the amount of damage, a high mortality rate is possible and the number of fatalities is expected to increase throughout the day.

The earthquake occurred at 8:29 a.m. local time northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The first images from the country indicated that several buildings collapsed under the force of the strong earthquake.

Haitian authorities said that the southern area of the country would likely have received the worst damage from the earthquake.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had issued a tsunami warning, but lifted it hours later. Enditem

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