An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 has struck near the coast of Northern Chile, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences said.
The quake was at a depth of 46km, it added.
The epicentre of the earthquake was located north of the city of Tocopilla, the capital of the province that has the same name.
Tocopilla and a nearby municipality, Alton Hospicio, experienced power outages due to the quake but no damage or injuries have been reported, according to Chile’s National Emergency Office.
The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean navy said the earthquake had characteristics that posed a tsunami threat for the coast. Earlier this week, a 6.8-magnitude quake struck in the Pacific off the coast of northern Chile, but no injuries or damage were reported at the time.
Chile frequently experiences earthquakes with magnitudes exceeding 6.0 as it is located along the Pacific basin’s “Ring of Fire”.
The last deadly earthquake shook several Chilean regions with a magnitude of 8.8 in February 2010, causing a tsunami and killing 526 people. (Agnecies)
