7.2 quake hits Chile, no tsunami threat

New York/Santiago, March 26 (IANS) An undersea quake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale Sunday struck off the coast of Chile but there was no risk of a tsunami, officials said.

The tremor hit around 6.30 p.m. with the epicentre 10 km under the seabed off the coast of Maule, the US geological survey said.

Chilean authorities have cancelled plans to evacuate residents in low-lying south-central coastal areas after tsunami was ruled out, Xinhua reported.

The National Emergency Bureau said the quake did not have 'the conditions needed to generate a tsunami'. It initially had called for evacuation of the coast in the quake zone.