Authorities in Chile said on Saturday they regretted spreading panic with a mistaken tsunami warning calling for people to get out of coastal areas following an earthquake in Antarctica.
The interior ministry said on Twitter that a tremor of magnitude 7.1 struck at 8.36 p.m. 216 km northeast of the O'Higgins Chilean scientific base and called for the coastal regions of Antarctica to be evacuated because of a tsunami risk.
The ministry also sent a message to cellphones around the country urging people to abandon coastal areas, though the ministry later said it was sent in error.