Disturbing footage from inside Ecuador's José Joaquín de Olmedo airport has begun circulating on social media, depicting scenes of utter chaos as distraught bystanders cradle the wounded and deceased.

Video footage too graphic to share came alongside an eyewitness account on social media, describing a "heavy shootout" inside the airport at Guayaquil with "several people shot".

One man was killed and another injured on Wednesday, June 17, in an armed attack at the entrance to Guayaquil's international airport, according to local reports.

According to local reports, the attack took place close to the entrance of the international airport, in what is believed to have been a targeted assassination attempt.

The shooting took place in the international arrivals departure area of the José Joaquín de Olmedo airport, where a group of armed assailants opened fire on their victims in what authorities believe was a calculated hit.

Initial reports suggest that the man who was killed — believed to have been the intended target — had only just touched down at the Ecuadorian airport when he was gunned down.

His wife was present at the time of the attack, while the injured survivor was swiftly transferred to hospital for urgent medical treatment.

A source within Ecuador's Ministry of the Interior confirmed to respected local news agency PRIMICIAS that two individuals had been arrested in connection with the attack. The Ministry's source revealed that the pair were seized in the car park of the airport terminal.

The shooting occurred just 24 hours after the South American country declared a state of emergency across 10 provinces in response to a surge in gang violence and organised crime.