Originally published on September 26, 2013<br /><br />A magnitude 7 earthquake struck off the coast of Peru on Wednesday.<br />The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 29 miles (40km) under the Pacific Ocean, 29 miles south of the sparsely populated region of Acari in the southern Arequipa region.<br /><br />"According to Reuters, authorities rushed to rescue miners reportedly trapped in copper pits after the earthquake shook the coast - causing landslides, injuries and possibly deaths in rural provinces, local officials said.<br /><br />"Officials in the southern Arequipa region said they were told that people died after collapses in make-shift copper mines, which operate largely outside of the law.<br /><br />"However, they said they could not confirm the deaths.<br /><br />"'We have heard people have died near the mines Huarato and La Verde, which are small informal copper mines,' Juan Flores, an official with the Acari district government, told Reuters.<br /><br />"Police and government officials were traveling to the remote mining area to help people reportedly trapped, Flores said.<br /><br />"Sources with the regional government of Arequipa told Reuters there were reports that three people had died at the mines.<br /><br />"Details remained sketchy as darkness fell, but the quake also reportedly toppled houses in a sparsely populated province in Peru's southern Arequipa region.<br /><br />"Peruvian President Ollanta Humala said on RPP radio that around six people had been injured because of the earthquake, and that landslides and electrical blackouts had occurred.<br /><br />"Locals in Arequipa's Caraveli province reported structural damage.<br /><br />"A local resident of Acari also told RPP radio that a landslide blocked a highway.<br /><br />"The quake shook buildings in the capital of Lima 313 miles away.<br /><br />"Peruvian authorities did not issue any tsunami alerts."<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
