Chile's government was scrambling yesterday to deliver aid to southern and central regions devastated by Saturday's powerful earthquake after 10,000 troops imposed an overnight curfew in the worst affected areas in an attempt to halt looting.
Firefighters combing through a crumpled block of flats in the southern city of Concepción, the nearest to the epicentre of the 8.8 magnitude quake, said they had heard knocks from what they believed were three survivors trapped in the rubble of their apartment. As many as 50 people are believed still to be stuck in the ruins.
The official death toll rose to 711 but President Michelle Bachelet warned it was sure to climb further as the sheer magnitude of the devastation emerged.