SANTIAGO (AFP) - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake rocked central Chile late on Saturday (April 22), monitors said, though there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The tremor took place at 11.36pm (10.36am Singapore), centred off the coast at 42km west of Valparaiso, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It had a depth of 9.8km.

Chile's National Emergency Office, or ONEMI, estimated its strength at 6.1 on the Richter scale.

The Navy's hydrographic and oceanographic service found that the quake "has the characteristics to generate a tsunami".

However, no warning was issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

A series of smaller earthquakes in Valparaiso in the evening hours rattled locals.