Magnitude 6.1 quake hits Chile but no damage reported

Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:10pm EDT
 
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SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A powerful magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck copper-rich northern Chile on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

"For the moment we have no reports of damage or power disruptions," a source at Chile's National Disaster Agency (ONEMI) said shortly after the quake, which struck near the Bolivian border.

The USGS said the quake, centered 88 miles east of the Chilean city of Iquique, struck at a depth of 74.3 miles . Originally it said the quake occurred at a depth of 24.9 miles.

Miners in the region said they felt the quake, but there were no initial reports of damage from major mines either in Chile or Peru to the north.

Quake-prone Chile is a major copper producer.

(Reporting by Pav Jordan, Antonio de la Jara and Terry Wade, editing by Todd Eastham)

 

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