At least 11 people were killed in Chile after a massive earthquake struck off the country's central coast on Wednesday night, an official said. Director of Chile's National Emergency Office, Ricardo Toro, said 11 people were killed, nine others injured in the quake while 610 people lost their homes, according to EFE news agency.
President Michelle Bachelet said her government was closely monitoring the situation minute by minute as there could be aftershocks, according to AFP. Nearly one million people living along the country's Pacific coast were evacuated as a precaution.
"We want to thank people for their cooperation, which allowed for a death toll that while unfortunate was not very high considering the strength of the earthquake," the Chilean president said during her tour of affected regions, according to Reuters.
Bachelet visited the area affected the most - Coquimbo - where tsunami waves of 15 feet hit the shore, according to BBC. The coastal region remains under a state of emergency.
"A total of 409 persons are in shelters in the coastal Coquimbo region. The port of Coquimbo suffered serious damage and is currently unusable. Some boats are stranded in the wetlands and others are stuck inland," Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said, according to Xinhua news agency.
An 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the central Chilean coast on Wednesday night, triggering a tsunami alert in Chile, Hawaii, California and a number of Pacific countries, HNGN reportedly previously.
Watch the shocking footage of Wednesday's quake in Chile.
