SANTIAGO, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale rocked northern Chile Wednesday, leaving two people dead and 140 more injured, police reported.

    The quake struck at 12:40 p.m. (1540 GMT) with its epicenter 101 km north of Calama, a city 1,568 km north of the capital Santiago. It was followed by several aftershocks, including three measuring larger than magnitude 5.

A strong earthquake measuring 7.7 Magnitude rocked northern Chile on Wednesday but no casualties have been reported so far. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The tremor could also be felt as far away as the other side of the continent in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

    The earthquake crushed cars, damaged hundreds of houses and terrified people for hundreds of kilometers around.

    Two women, aged 88 and 54, died in Tocopilla, one of the worst hit towns in northern Chile, when a wall collapsed on to them, the authorities reported.

    Panic also descended on Iquique and Antofagasta, two other cities in the area, but damage was limited to power cuts and suspended phone services.

    Chilean Interior Minister Belisario Velasco said several government ministers will travel to the area to coordinate rescue and reconstruction efforts.

    After talking to President Michelle Bachelet, Velasco told reporters that local authorities were already trying their best to get the measure of the situation on the ground.

    Carmen Fernandez, director of Chile's National Emergencies Office, said the towns of Tocopilla, Maria Elena and Mejillones were the worst hit.

    Four trucks of emergency food have been sent to the area and a Chilean Air Force plane will go to the area Thursday with more supplies, Fernandez said.

    Peru's Geophysics Agency reported that the quake was felt in the three southern Peruvian provinces of Tacna, Moquegua and Arequipa, but there were no reports of damage.

    In the Argentine city of San Juan, residents fled buildings on feeling the quake, but no injuries were reported.