Quake of magnitude 6.1 hits in Pacific off southern Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 struck in the Pacific off southern Chile on Friday, but there were no early reports of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) below the surface, about 142 kilometers (88 miles) west of Ancud, a town 1,120 kilometers (696 miles) south of the Chilean capital, Santiago.

The National Emergency Office said in a tweet that authorities were checking for any “possible damage to people, alteration of basic services or infrastructure.”

The Chilean navy’s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.

Chile sits along the so-called “Ring of Fire” of the Pacific, and it has frequent earthquakes. In 2010, a quake of magnitude 8.8 set off a devastating tsunami that killed 526 people and collapsed more than 220,000 homes in the south-central part of the country.