SANTIAGO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A 7.3-magnitude earthquake left at least one person dead and a bridge with a fracture in northern Chile on Thursday night, the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response said Friday.
The tremor, which could be felt in several regions, occurred some 20 kilometers south of the town of San Pedro de Atacama at 9:50 p.m. local time on Thursday.
San Pedro de Atacama, a tourist town that houses astronomical centers and is about 1,600 kilometers north of Santiago, the Chilean capital, suffered a total power outage, said Ricardo Munizaga, the regional director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response in Antofagasta.
Located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Chile is considered as one of the most seismic countries on the planet.
