The quake was followed nine minutes later by a moderate, 5.2 magnitude quake at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) off the shore of Atacama, 710 kilometers (440 miles) north of Santiago at 1926 GMT, USGS said.

Two hours later, a third earthquake struck the same area with a magnitude of 5.6, at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles) some 65 kilometers (40 miles) north-northwest of Copiapo, or 746 kilometers (463 miles) north of Santiago, at 2133 GMT, the USGS reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the sparsely populated region.

Chile lies on the western coast of South America, an area that is active seismically, as the Nazca tectonic plate below the Pacific drives itself beneath the South American plate.

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