1700 people are still missing

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Government officials in Ecuador are now reporting 525 deaths were caused by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off the Pacific coast on April 16—but they fear the tally could climb much higher, since as many as 1,700 are still listed as missing, and recovery efforts have just begun.

The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades tore up highways and knocked down hundreds of buildings in communities along the coast.

Rescuers are still hoping to find survivors amid the rubble who may have been trapped for days—more than 50 have already been rescued since Saturday.

The severely damaged Basilica de Monserrate's tower stands in tatters after an earthquake in Montecristi, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

The view of a vehicle squashed by rubble after a 7.8-magnitude quake in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

A girl is rescued from the rubble in Pedernales, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

A collapsed bridge, after an earthquake struck off the Pacific coast, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

A picture taken in one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, Pedernales, a day after a 7.8-magnitude quake hit the country, on April 17, 2016.

With the help of trained dogs, rescue workers in the city of Manta, search on April 17, 2016 through the rubble for survivors.

Rescuers search for victims buried under the rubble in Pedernales, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

A rescue worker watches as heavy machinery removes the debris of a collapsed building in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

Pedernales, one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, on April 18, 2016.

Vehicles from a car dealership hang on a precipice caused by an earthquake-induced landslide in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

Firemen work after an earthquake struck off Ecuador's Pacific coast, at the Tarqui neighborhood in Manta, on April 17, 2016.

A hand appears from the rubble of a collapsed building in Pedernales, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

A man evacuates his belongings in Manta, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

Firefighters remove a body recovered from a destroyed building felled by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 18, 2016.

A member of the Mexican rescue group TOPOS rubs his eyes as he works in the rubble of an earthquake collapsed building in Pedernales, on April 19.

Police officers pile empty coffins in one of Ecuador's worst-hit towns, Pedernales, two days after the earthquake hit, on April 18, 2016.

A collapsed building in Pedernales on April 18, 2016.

Pablo Rafael Cordova Canizares shakes hands with one of the Colombian firefighters who rescued him, at the Verdi Cevallos Hospital in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 18, 2016.

A man looks at a rift in a highway created by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, in Chacras, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

A view of a destroyed house in Jama, in the Ecuadorean coastal province of Manabi, on April 18, 2016.

Local residents reach for water in Manta, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016, three days after the powerful quake struck Ecuador's Pacific coast.

Residents sleep under a makeshift tent outside the emergency center in the town of Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 17, 2016.

Relatives mourn the loss of their family members, victims of the earthquake, during a funeral service in Portoviejo, on April 18, 2016.

Edith Mero nurses her broken arm as she stands in front of her collapsed house in Estancia Las Palmas, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016. Edith's husband died and she was injured during the earthquake.

Maria Victoria, 89, is comforted by her daughter Mariana in Estancia Las Palmas, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

Injured people are evacuated on a military airplane from the air base in Manta, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

Rescuers search for victims buried under the rubble in Pedernales, Ecuador, on April 19, 2016.

Scarlett Macias comforts her father Hercor Macias during the funeral of her mother Valentina Arteaga, who died inside her house during the earthquake, in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 18, 2016.