A powerful earthquake has hit central Chile, causing buildings to sway in the capital Santiago, the BBC reported, quoting officials.

The 8.3-magnitude tremor was centred off the coast, about 144 miles (232km) north-west of the capital.

Five people are now known to have died, and one million residents have been evacuated from coastal areas. There were reports of panic in some cities.

The earthquake produced waves of up to 4.5m (15ft) along the coast in the region of Coquimbo.

The tremor struck at 19:54 local time (22:54 GMT), about 55km west of the city of Illapel, the US Geological Survey said.
Officials said it was at the depth of about 10km (six miles).