The death toll rose to six Wednesday in the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile’s northern coast — a tremblor that knocked out power at a woman’s prison and allowed 300 inmates to stage a mass jail break.
The quake also triggered a tsunami that pounded the shore with 7-foot waves, but authorities later lifted tsunami warnings for the South American nation’s Pacific coastline, easing fears of more widespread death and destruction.
Experts said it was a remarkably low death toll for such a powerful shift in the Earth’s crust.
President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of emergency in the region.
Soldiers were deployed to prevent looting and round up the escaped prisoners.
The dead included people crushed to death and others who suffered heart attacks.
with Post Wire Services