The quake which sent a wave across the sea towards Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and the US, sparking tsunami alerts measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale.
The disaster struck Chile at 6.34am UK time yesterday, with some of the worstdamage in the second biggest city Concepc on,
When rescue workers reached the city, which has a population of 200,000, they found dozens of {injured people lying in the streets. Others wandered around in a daze wrapped in blankets, some carrying infants in their arms.
Homes and bridges were destroyed, buildings engulfed in flames as gas pipes burst and trucks plunged into vast cracks which {had appeared in the road.
Someof the worst affected regions had their communications from the rest of the {countrycut off. One man in the city of Temuco said: Never in my life have Iexperienced a quake like this. Its like the end of the world.
The capital city of Santiago, 200 miles from the epicentre, shook for about a minute-and-a-half, bringing {buildings crashing to the ground.
Minutes after the quake, terrified residents streamed on to the streets crying and hugging each other for comfort. Many were too scared to return to their homes.Throughout the morning aftershocks of up to 6.9 on the Richter Scale shook the city. The Foreign Office last night said there were no reports of UK casualties but warned Britons not to travel to Chile.
Source:mirror.co.uk/
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