A massive earthquake of 7.4 magnitude has struck Antofagasta in Chile, said the United States Geological Survey. No immediate damages or injuries were reported.
The quake struck near San Pedro de Atacama on Thursday, the USGS said, adding that the tremor hit 41 kilometres southeast of the town at a depth of 128 km.
The USGS, however, noted that no tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat had been detected.
President Gabriel Boric took to microblogging site X and noted that there were "no reports of injuries or serious damages".
He later said that some rocks had come loose and rolled onto the highway connecting Calama city to Tocopilla, which is located east of the quake's epicentre. However, he said that authorities were still gathering information.
Meanwhile, Chile's National Disaster Prevention and Response Service said the earthquake was felt -- with different intensities -- in several regions of the country including Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo, Arica and Parinacota.
Earlier in January, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude had struck northern Chile's Tarapaca region with a depth of 118 km, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre had said.
The Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy had said that the characteristics of the quake had not met the necessary conditions for the generation of a tsunami on the Chilean coast.
Notably, just two days ago, Antofagasta had been struck by a 4.5 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 143.62 km.
According to the World Economic Forum, Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions. The country sits on the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire".
The South American country has been struck by more than a dozen earthquakes of at least magnitude 7 in the last 50 years.
In one of the deadliest quakes ever, Chile was struck by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in February 2010, leaving 525 people dead and causing damage worth $30 billion.
Chilean authorities have been trying to act more towards finding a solution for its quake, adopting existing technologies on a larger scale on management.
