Strong Earthquake Rocks Northern Chile, No Injuries Reported

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Santiago: A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook northern Chile on Monday, causing shakes throughout the Antofagasta region and briefly disrupting mining operations in one of the world's greatest regions of copper-production. According to seismic monitoring agencies, the quake's epicentre occurred near the city of Calama and was more than 100 kilometres deeper.

According to authorities, there are no immediate reports of deaths, injuries, or severe structural damage. SENAPRED, Chile's disaster response agency, noted that while some landslides occurred in mining areas, important infrastructure was mostly unaffected.

The tremor caused temporary power and water outages in certain areas of Calama, forcing emergency inspections and precautionary closures at some mining sites. Codelco, the state-owned copper producer, paused certain activities, although large mining corporations such as BHP and Antofagasta reported their operations were not seriously disrupted.

Chile, located on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences regular earthquakes. Officials are still monitoring the situation for aftershocks, but no tsunami warning was issued following the quake.