Deadly earthquake hits central Chile

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 has struck central Chile, killing at least 17 people and triggering a tsunami.

The tremor shook the capital, Santiago, for a minute and a half early this morning, bringing down telephone and power lines. Local radio reported 17 deaths while the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, earlier said six people were confirmed dead and more deaths were possible.

"We have had a huge earthquake," Bachelet said. "We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately. Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths."

Speaking to a local television station in Temuco, one witness said: "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world."

The Pacific tsunami warning centre said the quake generated a tsunami that could cause destruction along nearby shores "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts". It issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru, while Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica are also on alert.

Chile's navy said officials had lifted the tsunami warning in southern Chile, local radio reported.

The quake centred 200 miles south-west of the Santiago at a depth of 22 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. It warned that an earthquake of magnitude 8 or above could cause "tremendous damage".

The quake that devastated Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, in January was magnitude 7.0.

The epicentre was 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second largest city, with a population of around 670,000.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on 22

May 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...hquake-tsunami