This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Posted: 12:47 PM- Seven Peruvian LDS Church members were among the more than 500 people who were killed in Wednesday's earthquake in Pisco, Peru, LDS spokesman Scott Trotter said today.

Fourteen more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were seriously injured and more than 70 Mormon homes were damaged or destroyed. Several chapels sustained cracks and other minor damage, Trotter said. The temple in Lima, which is about 60 miles southwest from where the quake hit, sustained no damage, nor did the Missionary Training Center there.

There are about 100 missionaries working in the area.

"All of them have checked in with their mission presidents and are reported safe," he said.

LDS leaders have opened four Pisco churches to temporarily house and feed Mormons and others dislocated by the quake. They are working closely with the Peruvian Civil Defense Agency to provide emergency response supplies. On Thursday, the church provided 10,000 blankets and other emergency response supplies such as tents.

It is also loading a 747 cargo plane at the Salt Lake City International Airport with medical supplies, surgical instruments, family food boxes, hygiene kits and tarps. The plane is scheduled to deliver the items to a military airbase in Peru as soon as possible.

The church has more than 430,000 members, 735 congregations and seven missions in Peru.