Chile Earthquake Death Toll Up to 13, Several Missing

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Chile earlier this week has gone up to 13, while the number of missing people stands at six, Chilean Deputy Interior Secretary Mahmud Aleuy said.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The number of missing people stands at six, Aleuy told reporters on Friday.

Earlier figures put the death toll at 12.

An 8.3-magnitude earthquake hit Chile’s central Coquimbo Region, located about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital Santiago, on Wednesday evening.

Chile’s National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry (ONEMI) put the quake’s magnitude at 8.4, issuing a nation-wide red alert and requesting an evacuation of Chile’s entire national coastline.

The earthquake triggered Pacific-wide tsunami waves and about one million people were evacuated from Pacific coastal areas.

The highest tsunami observed in Chile were in Coquimbo, where three waves were recorded to be at least 4 meters (13 feet). Hundreds of homes in Chile were declared uninhabitable or destroyed following the earthquake and the tsunami.

The highest tsunami observed outside Chile were in French Polynesia.