March 5, 2010 9:35 AM

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Chile reconstruction may take years: Bachelet

The Chilean President has said reconstruction will take three to four years as the country recovers from the earthquake that killed some 800 people. The Prime Minister Michelle Bachelet there are rural areas where everything has tumbled to the ground, infrastructure has been destroyed. She said it would take foreign aid and most of the mandate of President-elect Sebastian Pinera to rebuild. Three days of national mourning have been declared to begin on Sunday.Tremors have continued to rock the nation after Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake. The US Geological Survey said one of 6.3 hit the north of the country, 255 kilometres north-east of Antofagasta and 1,260 kilometers north of the capital Santiago. On Wednesday, strong aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 and above were felt in several cities including Santiago, and prompted tsunami warnings, which were later lifted.The cost of the damage, which Ms Bachelet described as enormous has so far been estimated at between 15 billion and 30 billion dollars.

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