Strong quake hits northwest Argentina, near Chile; no damage

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit northwestern Argentina on Wednesday, near the border with Chile, striking at a fairly deep 190 kilometres (118 miles) below the earth, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no preliminary reports of injuries to people, damage to infrastructure, or interruption of services, Chile's Onemi emergency office said. "The quake was really deep, so it really didn't feel that strong," said Mauricio Soriano, the regional head of Onemi in the mining-intensive Antofagasta region. Chile's Navy also ruled out any danger of a tsunami. The USGS twice revised downward the quake's magnitude, first saying it measured as a major 7.0, then a 6.9 magnitude. It also initially placed its epicentre in northeastern Chile. A local journalist in the northwest Argentine city of Jujuy contacted by Reuters said the quake "was barely felt". (Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Felipe Iturrieta in Santiago, Sandra Maler in Washington DC, Walter Bianchi in Buenos Aires; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Richard Lough and Bernard Orr)