one person dies after car explodes outside ecuadorian shopping centre in 'terror attack'

One person has been killed and dozens injured after a vehicle exploded outside a shopping centre in Guayaquil,Ecuador.

Video filmed by a taxi driver and shared by Metro Ecuador captured onlookers filming the vehicle on fire on José Orrantia González when it suddenly exploded.

Surveillance footage afterwards showed thick smoke and flames pouring from the van,parked outside the Mall del Sol shopping centre.

A taxi driver died in the explosion that also left two seriously injured and 27 with minor wounds,the fire department told local broadcaster Ecuavisa.

@metroecuador Una explosión se registró en el norte de Guayaquil. Un vehículo explotó la tarde de este 14 de octubre en una zona comercial del puerto principal. Hay un fallecido y dos heridos,según el Cuerpo de Bomberos de Guayaquil. #guayaquil

♬ sonido original – Metro Ecuador

The explosion,which erupted near the Ciudadela Vernaza Norte residential neighbourhood,is believed to have been caused by a gas tank.

Samantha Vera,a doctor in the area,was just ‘metres away’ from the inferno.

Vera,40,told AFP: ‘We ran away out of fear that something else might happen. We’re in shock.’

The government has labelled it a terrorist attack (Picture: Reuters)

Claudia Quimi,who owns a salon,said the glass windows shook from the ‘horrifying blast’.

A second vehicle with explosives was found nearby,but it failed to detonate and has been neutralised.

The city’s security has urged people to avoid the area and announced that nearby roads have been closed to allow emergency services through.

📍Av. José Orrantia(1/2) Unidades de #SeguraEP brindan asistencia y control del tránsito mientras se atiende la emergencia ocasionada por la detonación de artefactos explosivos.Desde el #C5GYE,se colabora con las Unidades Investigativas de @PoliciaEcZona8 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/9nbDxjj08l

— Segura EP – C5GYE (@segura_ep) October 15,2025

It added: ‘For safety reasons,a preventive evacuation of nearby buildings was carried out,and controlled detonations are being executed under specialised protocols.’

Interior Minister John Reimberg said on X: ‘This is not a handcrafted device,it is a professionally made item by criminal groups that want to cause chaos in the country.

‘The National Police is working around the clock to counter the threat and find those responsible for this terrorist act.’

Guayas provincial governor Humberto Plaza told reporters: ‘We will hunt down those who perpetrated this act of terrorism.

‘We will capture them,and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’