Chile's earthquake death toll rises to 150

SANTIAGO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) - The Chilean National Emergency Office (Onemi) said on Saturday that the death toll from the magnitude-8.8 earthquake that hit Chile early in the morning has exceeded 150.

The Onemi's director, Carmen Fernandez, said earlier that the death toll "will be changing every minute, and to the moment it is 147."

According to the science chief of the Seismology Institute of the University of Chile, Sergio Barrientos, the Saturday earthquake was "50 times bigger than the one of Haiti."

One of the worst hit areas was Biobio, where some 400,000 were affected, according to the Onemi.

Meanwhile, the airport of Santiago is closed due to structural problems in its main building caused by the tremor, and it is expected that in 48 hours the authorities could fix the problems.

In the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, electricity supply was interrupted in many municipalities.

Between the region of Valparaiso and Araucania, some 800 km from each other, there are many zones without water supply and telephone service. There are also problems with the sewage system.

Meanwhile, Chile's Education Minister Monica Jimenez announced that the beginning of new school semesters in the country will be postponed to March 8 from March 3, as time is needed for examination of school buildings and repairs of those damaged in the earthquake.

Public Works Minister Sergio Bitar said that highways connecting Santiago with the north of the country are in good conditions, but drivers still should be cautious.

As for the highways leading to the south, there are no problems before the section of Cucico, some 201 km from Santiago, said Bitar, adding that beyond Cucico there are collapsed bridges or damaged roads.

Meanwhile, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet urged the people to remain calm, and has sent three rescue teams to the affected areas while declaring many parts of the country as catastrophe zones.

Bachelet said a huge tsunami wave hit the Juan Fernandez islands, an archipelago where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th century, inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe.

She also said residents were evacuated from the coastal areas of Chile's remote Easter Island, a popular tourist destination in the Pacific famous for its towering Moai stone statues.

After the earthquake, at least 25 aftershocks ranging from 5 to 6.9 in magnitude have been registered.

Meanwhile, at 12:48 p.m. local time, an earthquake measuring 6. 1 on the Richter scale shook Argentina in the province of Salta, some 1,600 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, leaving at least 2 dead and 2 injured.

The magnitude-8.8 tremor rocked Chile at 3:34 a.m. local time Saturday, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami that rolled menacingly across the Pacific.

The epicenter was only 115 km from Concepcion, Chile's second- largest city with a population of 200,000 people.