GUATEMALA CITY (AP):

A powerful earthquake that shook Guatemala and parts of El Salvador caused widespread panic but left both countries virtually unscathed, officials said yesterday after checking the region.

"Besides some landslides, the only other damage confirmed has been a wall that collapsed at a home under construction," Ana Luis Olmedo, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Reduction Center, told The Associated Press yesterday.

Eddy Sanchez, director of the Guatemala's Seismology Institute, said several aftershocks have been felt since the 6.8-magnitude quake struck Wednesday afternoon south-west of Guatemala City.