Irish nun who died in Ecuador earthquake was 'beautiful person'

An Irish nun has been announced as one of more than 250 dead in an earthquake in Ecuador.

Sister Clare Theresa Crockett, 33, was described as a "superstar" by her family after it emerged she died when a stairwell in a school she worked in collapsed on top of her. The death toll has now risen to at least 272 with more than 2,000 injured by Saturday's earthquake.

Crockett was a nun in the Home of the Mother order and taught in a school in Playa Prieta. Her body was recovered with six others from the school's rubble on Monday morning.

In a statement, Crockett's family said: "On Sunday 17th April, we lost our daughter, sister and aunt Sister Clare Theresa Crockett as a result of the earthquake in Ecuador.

"She was situated in a school in Playa Prieta with the Home of the Mother Order. At this difficult time we would ask for privacy."

Father Roland Colhoun, who knew Crockett well as her spiritual director, said she was a "beautiful person".

He told the BBC: "The terrible news has devastated everyone in the last couple of hours.

"This is a young girl who gave her life to God and died for the gospel.

"She was a joyful girl, I've known her since she was a teenager. A beautiful person.

"I'll remember the joy that she brought to her youth group and the enthusiasm she showed for her vocation to religious life.

"It's counter cultural to join a religious order for a young girl and she embraced it. We'll remember her with such affection."

Around 230 aftershocks have added to the survivors' worries as the hunt for bodies enters its second day.

The country's President Rafael Correacut short a visit to Italy to fly straight to the disaster zone. The full extent of the damage is still unclear and the death toll is expected to rise.