A strong earthquake struck northern Chile on Wednesday, just hours after a magnitude-7.7 tremor shook the region, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Chilean officials reported two deaths and more than 150 injuries.
The USGS said the first quake was centred about 170 kilometres north of Antofagasta and struck at 10:40 a.m. ET about 60 kilometres beneath the surface, causing building collapses and power outages in the region.
A major earthquake in Antofagasta, northwest of Santiago, crushed cars and damaged hundreds of houses Wednesday. Authorities reported at least two deaths and more than 100 injuries.
(Ricardo de la Pena/Associated Press, Xinhua)
The second quake, which was registered as a magnitude of 5.7, came just two hours later.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued, then cancelled, a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru. It said the quake generated only a 70-centimetre wave.
Two women were killed in the port town of Tocopilla, 40 kilometres from the epicentre, when their houses collapsed, authorities said. Hospital director Juan Urrutia said at least 100 people were treated there for injuries or panic.
Television images showed cars crushed by the collapse of a hotel entryway in Antofagasta, a port town about 170 kilometres south of the epicentre. Officials in and around the city reported another 65 people injured in substantial damage to homes and buildings.
The first quake was felt strongly in the capital, Santiago, about 1,260 kilometres to the south, as well as in neighbouring Peru and Bolivia.
"It was horribly strong. It was very long and there was a lot of underground noise," said Andrea Riveros, a spokeswoman for the Park hotel in the town of Calama, about 106 kilometres east of the epicentre.
Riveros said the quake knocked out power to the hotel, but caused no damage.
In August, a magnitude-8 earthquake brought massive devastation to Peru, killing more than 500 people.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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