Santiago, October 31: A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday morning and was felt in several provinces of neighbouring Argentina, but there were no immediate reports of damage and authorities said there was no tsunami risk.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 9:33 am local time (12:33 pm GMT), and its epicentre was 42 km (26 miles) southwest of Huasco, a city in Chile's Atacama region. The quake had a depth of 35 km (22 miles). Earthquake in China: Quake of Magnitude 4.7 On Richter Scale Strikes Xinjiang.

Chile's national emergency office did not report any damages or injuries, and the Chilean navy dismissed the possibility of a tsunami. The quake was felt in several provinces in neighbouring Argentina, including western Mendoza and San Juan provinces, which border Chile, as well as central Cordoba province, according to local media reports. Earthquake in Fiji: Quake of 6.3 Magnitude Strikes Suva.

Chile is located in the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific and experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and subsequent tsunami claimed 526 lives.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)