SANTIAGO DE CHILE.- The first images broadcast from Concepcíon, located some 70 miles southwest of the epicentre of the earthquake, showed a building consumed by a massive blaze.

Streets were shown full of rubble and broken glass and patients were pictured being evacuated from the local hospital as emergency crisis centres were set up in the streets.

Others were pictured wandering dazed amongst the debris, wrapped in blankets, and covered in dirt.

Entire buildings in the historical centre of Concepcíon had collapsed, cars flattened and bridges stretching across the Biobio river which dissects the city, brought down.

Dramatic images broadcast on local television channels showed craters and fissures had opened up in the earth swallowing cars and parts of buildings.

Rescue teams were frantically trying to reach people reportedly trapped in buildings in Concepcion. Local media reported isolated incidents of looting from pharmacies and commercial centres in the city.

Several high-rise residential buildings in the city were pictured with the facades destroyed leaving interior rooms open to the elements.

Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean President, confirmed 78 people had been killed.

She declared a "state of catastrophe" and said: “With the quake of this magnitude, we cannot rule out other casualties.