Authorities walked back earlier statements that a second person had died and that 17 people were missing in a mine, signs that the human toll of the quake may not be as drastic as previously feared.
The quake hit offshore at 4:18 a.m. local time at a depth of around 36 km (22.4 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean 40 km from the town of Acari.
“The victim reportedly found in Bella Union has not been confirmed,” Chavez said. “Officially, we only have one death.”
Chavez said damage to roads was impeding help from arriving to the most-affected zones, which are mainly rural and remote. Aid workers and supplies would be flown in from nearby cities, he added.
On Twitter, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said he would travel to the towns of Acari and Chala “to verify the magnitude of the damages and send the corresponding humanitarian aid.”
Health Minister Abel Salinas Rivas told RPP that rescue workers spoke with representatives of the informal Estrella mine and confirmed that no one was missing from there. Rivas had said earlier that 17 people were missing after the mine east of Chala suffered damages following the quake.
Several municipalities were without electricity, and many roads and adobe houses had collapsed, Osorio said. Many residents of Lomas, a coastal town, were evacuated after feeling an aftershock.
In 2007 an earthquake killed hundreds in the region of Ica.
Jesus Revilla, a union leader at the Cerro Verde copper mine in Arequipa, said there were no reports that operations had been affected.
Chile’s National Emergency offices said there were no reports of injuries, damage to infrastructure, or interruption of basic services. The nation’s navy said the quake did not meet the conditions that would produce a tsunami off its coast.
