QUITO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and another injured on Thursday morning in a shooting in a rural area of Ecuador's western province of Manabi, local authorities said.

The attack occurred in the municipality of Santa Ana, where a group of gunmen broke in a house and fatally shot six residents, according to preliminary investigations.

A woman, who was seriously wounded in the assault, has been transferred to a hospital in Portoviejo, the capital of Manabi.

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

Manabi has been under a state of emergency since August, when the government imposed the measure in response to a surge in organized crime linked to drug cartels. ■