At least five people are known to have been killed after an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck northern Chile.<br /><br />The authorities said the victims included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or who died from heart attacks.<br /><br />The epicentre was off Chile’s northwestern coast. A local tsunami warning was later lifted but only after a wide area had been put on alert – as far away as Hawaii and Mexico.<br /><br />The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake generated waves of up to two metres high.<br /><br />President Michelle Bachelet is visiting the affected area on Wednesday after declaring a state of emergency.<br /><br />She has promised troops and police reinforcements in the disaster area to maintain order while infrastructure is repaired after landslides blocked roads. <br /><br />She only returned to power last month. Her first term was marked by an even larger quake that killed more than 500 people.<br /><br />Coastal areas were calmly evacuated. The region had been on high alert after a series of unusual tremors.<br /><br />Chile is the world’s largest copper producer but mining is not said to have been badly disrupted.<br /><br />About 300 female prisoners escaped temporarily but were soon recaptured.<br /><br />Some flights in and out of northern Chile were cancelled.
