SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A strong earthquake rocked northern Chile and parts of Bolivia on Thursday, sending residents fleeing out of buildings and temporarily knocking out telephones and electricity, authorities reported. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.The quake struck at 4:26 p.m. local time in the Andes Mountains along the border between the two countries. The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, measured the quake at magnitude 6.9 and said the epicenter was located in the Bolivian province of Potosi, about 780 miles (1,260 kilometers)northeast of Santiago, the Chilean capital.The University of Chile's Seismological Institute put the quake's magnitude at 6.8.The temblor was felt strongly in the Chilean port city of Tocopilla, 960 miles (1,550 kilometers) north of Santiago."Panic was widespread here and we are still checking, but we have no reports of victims or damage," said Tocopilla Gov. Jorge Peralta. "People took to the streets, and many parents rushed to schools to pick their children. I saw some automobiles traveling at clearly dangerous high speeds."He said power and phone lines were cut but were gradually being restored.The tremor was felt along a 440-mile (700-kilometer) stretch of Chile's narrow territory, between Copiapo and Tocopilla, said Hernan Vargas, a regional director of Chile's Emergency Bureau.It was felt near Chuquicamata, the world's largest open-pit copper mine and even across the border in Bolivia, where it registered a magnitude 5.4 in the Sud Lipez province of the Potosi department, 340 miles (550 kilometers) south of La Paz, according to the San Calixto Observatory.Earthquakes are frequent in northern Chile. A powerful quake in June left 12 people dead and destroyed hundreds of houses in small Andean villages, just north of the area affected Thursday. (Full story)Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.