7.5 magnitude quake strikes eastern Peru

A large magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck eastern Peru, though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the very deep temblor, the US Geological Survey reported Tuesday.

The quake, which struck at 5:45 pm (2245 GMT), was 602 kilometers (374 miles) deep.

It was located about 173 kilometers west-northwest of Iberia and 681 kilometers east-northeast of the capital Lima.

Buildings swayed in several Peruvian cities -- Cuzco, Tacna, Pucallpa and Arequipa -- as well as in parts of northern Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, local media reported.

Locals said they felt three separate moderate quakes, all of them lasting what seemed a long time.

"It's such a deep movement that it moves out further and is felt over a wider area," director of the private weather firm Ambiand, told Canal N.

The navy ruled out the likelihood of a tsunami.

Peru lies on what is known as the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

But the last major quake in Peru struck almost a decade ago -- on August 15, 2007, and had its epicenter on the central coast, just west of Pisco. It killed 595 people.

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