Santiago, Aug 18 (UNI) A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit on Thursday the southern part of Chile, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) said.
The tremor was registered at 02:10 GMT, 23 kilometers (over 14 miles) southeast of the city of Rancagua at a depth of 100 kilometers.
There are no immediate reports about any damages and victims caused by the earthquake. No tsunami alert has been declared.
Chile is located in a seismologically active zone, known as the Ring of Fire. The country particularly lies along the border between the South American and Nazca tectonic plates, whose movement sometimes causes powerful earthquakes.
An 8.2 magnitude earthquake hit the country on January 24, 1939, killing some 28,000 people and becoming the deadliest quake in the history of Chile.
On May 22, 1960, some 9.5 magnitude quake hit the city of Valdivia, leaving 1,000-7,000 people killed. The disaster, known as the Great Chilean earthquake, is one of the most powerful quakes ever recorded.

UNI/SPUTNIK GNK