MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Strong 6.3 quake strikes northern Chile; three days national mourning

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be visiting disaster areas on Friday

Chile was shaken Thursday by a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake that officials said was not an aftershock from the massive quake that killed hundreds and left two million in precarious living conditions last weekend.

The head of the Office of National Emergency (ONEMI), Carmen Fernandez, said no damage had been reported but “obviously there is fear among the people”.

The quake struck at 7:39 pm (local time) and its epicentre was 105 kilometres below the Andes mountains, north-east of Calama, in Antofagasta according to the US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquake activity. The area is located 1.575 kilometres north of the capital Santiago.

Calama, a major centre for mining with one of the world's largest open-air copper mines located nearby, is 2,500 metres above sea level so there is no danger of a tsunami, Mr Fernandez said.

On Wednesday, strong aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 and higher were felt in several cities, including the capital city of Santiago.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced on Thursday that starting Sunday, national flags will fly half-mast nationwide for three days.

The president also said the reconstruction will mainly be the mandate of the new government of President-elect Sebastian Piñera who will take office on March 11. Piñera has promised that his government will be devoted to reconstruction and laid out a four-step blueprint, including coping with the emergency needs of citizens, searching for missing relatives, providing prompt assistance to the sick and wounded and restoring law and order.

“The future government will not be the government of the earthquake, it will be the government of reconstruction”, the silver-haired conservative said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to visit Chile on Friday to assess the damage and meet both Bachelet and Piñera. His trip includes a visit to Concepcion, Chile's second-largest and hardest-hit town in last week's massive quake.

The quake, centred 325 km south-west of Santiago, is the worst disaster for Chile in half a century and has affected about 2 million out of 16 million Chileans. About 1.5 million buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The tremor also triggered a powerful tsunami that swamped towns and fishing villages along the coast, destroying ports, schools and hospitals.

Meanwhile the government sharply cut the official death toll from last weekend's earthquake and ensuing tsunamis to 279 identified bodies, from a previously reported 802 victims, without giving an official explanation.

Apparently the previously reported figure had included lists of people still missing from various local authorities.