CALETA LOANCO (Chile) - ENVIRONMENTALISTS erected a 28-foot-tall coffin on Saturday to protest against plans to build a thermoelectric power plant they say will pollute Chile's southern coastline.

The 750 MW plant to be built in Chile's El Maule region by AES Gener, a unit of US power company AES Corp is aimed at helping reverse the South American country's massive power deficit.

But some 400 activists turned out in this fishing village 465 km south of the capital of Santiago to unveil a coffin they said was the world's largest.

The protesters say the plant, which will be fired by coal shipped from Australia, will foul the air, pollute artisan fishing waters and poison groundwater in an area of forests.

Chile is one of Latin America's star economies, driven by sales of its No. 1 export copper, but the country's growth has been limited by dependence on its neighbors for fuel.

The country is seen becoming self-sufficient soon as new power supplies come on line, though opponents say Chile is selling out its environment in the name of development.

'Madame President: You choose who to kill,' activists wrote on the wooden coffin that is so tall organisers have sent in a record-breaking claim to the Guinness Book of Records.

AES Gener is revving up to become one of Chile's top power providers as it spends US$3 billion (S4.2 billion) in coming years to bring seven new, mainly coal-fired plants, on line.

'A thermoelectric plant would do away with our agriculture, with artisan fishing and with our tourism industry,' said Fernando Salinas, from the nongovernmental organisation born to oppose power projects in the region. -- REUTERS