Quake kills 11 in Chile's Andean region
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-15 07:54

Chile sent cargo planes with medicine and tents Tuesday to a northern Andean region rocked by an earthquake that killed at least 11 people, including a family of six buried by a landslide.

The magnitude 7.9 quake, the world's third-strongest since the temblor that set off the Asian tsunami in December, struck Monday evening, also rattling cities in Bolivia and Peru. The temblor was centered in a sparsely populated area in northern Chile, about 940 miles north of the capital of Santiago.

Juana Garcia, 104, sleeps between debris at her damaged residence in Huara, some 96 kilometers (60 miles) from Iquique port City in Chile, Tuesday, June 14, 2005, after an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude struck killing at least 11 people. [AP]

The government's Emergency Bureau said at least 130 people were injured, and many more required attention for panic attacks. The quake caused power outages and disrupted water supplies to parts of the Andean region, officials said.

A group of men work in a street in Huara town, some 96 km (59 miles) off Iquique, about 1,845km (1,146 miles) north of Santiago, Chile, June 14, 2005. Boulders littered city streets and highways in northern Chile on Tuesday after a 7.9-magnitude quake caused landslides and wrecked homes, killing at least 11 and injuring 200. [Reuters]

Landslides set off by the quake blocked roads, but military cargo planes flew in 15 tons of medicines, tents, mattresses and blankets, the Emergency Bureau said.

A Chilean boy sweeps a street in Huara town, some 96 km (59 miles) off Iquique, about 1,845 km (1,146 miles) north of Santiago, Chile, June 14, 2005. Boulders littered city streets and highways in northern Chile on Tuesday after a 7.9-magnitude quake caused landslides and wrecked homes, killing at least 11 and injuring 200. [Reuters]

At least 11 people were killed, including an 80-year-old disabled man and a 9-month-old baby, the government said.

An entire family of six died in a landslide near the port city of Iquique. Authorities said they had stopped by a road to put flowers where a man had earlier been killed in a traffic accident. Placing flowers at an accident site is a Chilean tradition.

A woman prays in Huara town, some 96 km (59 miles) off Iquique, about 1,845 km (1,146 miles) north of Santiago, Chile, June 14, 2005. [Reuters]

Raul Lanas, who lives in the village of Huara, told Radio Cooperativa of Santiago that nearly 60 percent of the houses there were destroyed or damaged. A nurse in the village said more than 20 people required medical aid.

The quake near Sumatra in Indonesia that spawned the Dec. 26 tsunami measured 9.0. A deadly 8.7 temblor struck the same area March 28.

A woman sits outside her house in Huara town, some 96 km (59 miles) off Iquique, about 1,845km (1,146 miles) north of Santiago, Chile, June 14, 2005. [Reuters]

President Ricardo Lagos cut short a European tour and flew home to deal with the emergency. The tour was to have included visits to Spain and Netherlands. He was in Sweden when told of the quake.

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