Earthquake and tsunamis in Chile kill more than 700
A MASSIVE earthquake and tsunamis killed 350 people in one Chilean coastal town, pushing the total death toll higher yesterday as the government tried to get aid to hungry survivors and halt looting.
President Michelle Bachelet said at least 708 people had been killed and called for calm as people desperate for food and water looted stores in some areas worst hit by Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude quake, one of the world’s biggest in a century.
Television images showed cars tossed on top of shattered houses and boats lifted far from the waterfront in the coastal towns of Pelluhue and in Constitucion, where 350 deaths alone were reported.
The quake wrecked hundreds of thousands of homes, mangled highways and dealt a heavy blow to the world’s biggest copper producer.