3 bodies found after Chile quake

SANTIAGO, CHILE —  An earthquake in remote southern Chile set off a landslide of rocks that smashed into a narrow fjord, causing massive 25-foot waves that swept away 10 beachgoers. Three bodies were recovered Sunday.

Rescuers were searching the cold Pacific waters for the other missing people after the magnitude 6.2 quake Saturday, authorities said.

Oscar Catalan, the mayor of the nearby town of Puerto Aisen, about 850 miles south of Santiago, saw six people at the shore pulled away by the current, El Mercurio newspaper reported.

The government’s Emergency Bureau said three bodies were found washed up on beaches in the fjord.

The bureau said there was no tsunami after the earthquake. The waves appeared to have been created when several landslides from surrounding hills crashed into the sea at the bottom of the narrow fjord, causing the water level to rise steeply, said Juan Cayupi, a volcanologist investigating the incident for the government.

Television footage after the quake showed roaring, white-capped waves in the ocean. Large trees on the coast were uprooted and dragged into the water.

The quake was centered about 35 miles northwest of the Chilean city of Coihaique, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

It was the strongest of hundreds of quakes that have been felt in the area since Jan. 22. Authorities believe the seismic activity is related to the formation of a new undersea volcano.

On Sunday, a moderate earthquake shook Santiago, the capital, in central Chile; there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.