A powerful magnitude 7.7 quake hit mineral-rich northern Chile today, injuring at least 20 people, damaging buildings and halting operations at some of the world's biggest copper mines.
The quake made buildings sway hundreds of miles away in neighboring countries and the Chilean capital Santiago.
Officials said there were no reports of deaths, but at least 20 people were injured when roofs caved in and balconies crumbled on weaker, older buildings, mostly in Tocopilla, north of coastal mining city Antofagasta.
"One of the most affected zones could be Tocopilla where some houses in the western part of town, which are made of lighter materials, have been affected and we have some injured people," Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe said on television.
Television images showed cars crushed under the concrete awning of a hotel in Antofagasta, where power and phone services were knocked out by the quake. Frightened residents stood in the streets.
"People ran out into the streets because of how prolonged the quake was. There was a lot of alarm but no material or human damage," said Police Chief Hernan Tamayo in Arequipa, a town farther north near the Peruvian border.
The United States Geological Service said the quake was centred 106 kilometres west of the town of Calama and struck at 3.40pm Irish time.
Copper prices jumped by as much as 6.29 per cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division as huge copper mines reported they were without power.
Chilean authorities discounted the chances of a tsunami along its Pacific coast after the quake