The quake's epicenter was located 115 kilometers (70 miles) ENE of Iquique, Chile, about 1515 kilometers (940 miles) north of Chile's capital, Santiago, at a depth of 108.4 kilometers (67.4 miles).

Meanwhile, a preliminary 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Rat Islands and Aleutian Islands area of Alaska, epicentered 35 miles southeast of Amchitka, and 175 miles southwest of Adak. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a bulletin saying that temblor struck at 9:10 a.m. but is NOT expected to generate a tsunami, or tidal wave damaging to the North American west coast.

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos cut short an overseas trip after at least eight people were killed in a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Chile. Lagos had met the Swedish prime minister in Stockholm but was heading home, a Swedish official said.

Chile's government rushed aid and senior officials to the northern Andean region where the earthquake struck. Three people were killed in falling buildings and five died when rocks crushed their vehicle, officials said.

In the coastal town of Iquique, hundreds of people ran into the streets in fear of collapsing buildings and even a tsunami.

The earthquake, which lasted nearly a minute, was also felt in neighboring Bolivia and Peru. Iquique, which is 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the epicenter, and two other coastal towns, Arica and Antofagasta, appeared to have suffered the worst damage.

The Chilean government said the region had suffered power cuts, telephone communication was down and several houses had collapsed. The authorities by-passed blocked roads by flying 15 tons of relief supplies directly to the stricken area on military cargo planes, the government's Emergency Bureau said.

Relief workers are trying to find shelter for those made homeless by the disaster, it said.

"We cannot exclude the possibility of more casualties," said Interior Minister Jorge Correa.

U.S.G.S. reports the Chilean earthquake resulted from the release of stresses that were generated by the subduction of the oceanic Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. In this region, known as the Peru-Chile subduction zone, ongoing subduction occurs at a rate of about 7.8 centimeters per year in a east-northeast direction. The subduction process generates numerous earthquakes and volcanism, and actively builds the Andes mountains.

The Nazca plate runs the length of South America's west coast.

Intellpuke: "You can read more of the BBC News article on the Chilean earthquake, here.