A powerful earthquake hit northern Chile on Wednesday causing chaos over a wide area. There were no official reports of deaths or injuries from the major quake, which was felt in neighboring Peru and Bolivia as well.

The earth started trembling at 10:40 a.m. EST. The earthquake had a 7.7 magnitude and was centered 780 miles north of Santiago, the U.S. Geological Survey informed. According to the USGS it occurred about 37.3 miles beneath the surface.

More precisely, it was centered in the village of Quillahua, near Calama, site of the large Chuquicamata copper mine situated in the Andes, said presidential spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber.

The city that was hit the hardest is Tocopilla, a town located 75 miles north of Antofagasta, from where the Chilean television broadcasted images showing cars crushed under the concrete awning of a hotel where power was knocked out.  The inhabitants stood on the streets fearing as second wave might hit the area.

However, Chile's Interior Ministry said it had received reports of minor injuries so far.

The pacific coast of the South America is well-known for its high seismic activity. Just a few months ago, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Peru and caused the death of about 500 people.

The area hit by the quake is very rich in copper and several large mines are functioning there. Chile is the biggest copper producer in the world and it provides more than a third of the annual supplies. As a result, Copper futures in New York jumped by as much as 3.2 percent after the news of the earthquake that struck the South American country reached the U.S.

However, a report on the effect that the quake had on the copper mines in northern Chile wasn’t released yet.