A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of north-central Chile on Saturday evening.

Local government officials said that two people have died as a result of the quake.

The quake struck at 10:32 pm local time with a depth of 53 kilometres and an epicentre some 15 kilometres southwest of Coquimbo.

It rattled buildings in the capital city of Santiago and was felt in Valparaiso, O'Higgins, as well as in Atacama and Coquimbo up north.

A tsunami warning was initially issued, but cancelled shortly afterwards.