Costa Rica's 6.1-magnitude earthquake on Thursday has claimed 15 lives, according to official counts, with scores of people still missing or injured. The information about the updated death toll was given to the federal Commission for National Emergencies by Rodrigo Arias, the Vice President of Costa Rica.

Though the different reports on the number of dead are at variance - with a Red Cross official saying 14 people died and were 22 missing; and the Red Cross spokeswoman saying 9 dead and 42 missing - the toll is likely to rise as rescue workers reach out to isolated villages and cars buried by mudslides.

The Commission's spokesman, Reinaldo Carballo, said that the nearly 150 stranded tourists - mostly from the US, Canada, France and Spain - have been rescued by helicopters, from near the Poas volcano, the earthquake's epicenter.

Struggling in rain and mist, the rescue teams reached the people left high and dry in mountainous central zones, as fallen trees and cracked roads hampered their efforts in the farming region, wherein lie most of the popular tourist sites.

The earthquake that shook the country has been termed as the strongest in the last 150 years. Hitting 20 miles northwest of the capital, the quake, which had water shaking out of swimming pools, was followed by several aftershocks, and collapsed homes.

Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, who visited the zones worst-hit by the quake, said that the Central American neighbors of the country - the US, Colombia, and China have offered aid to victims of the devastating earthquake.