EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton told Chile's Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez in a telephone conversation that Europe stands ready to offer its support.

In a statement, Ashton praised Chile's quick response to the 8.8-magnitude earthquake, saying she was "very impressed with the professional way in which the Chilean authorities are handling the situation."

Earlier on Saturday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso pledged 3 million euros ( $4 million) in fast-track humanitarian aid.

The earthquake struck in the early hours of Saturday, while most Chileans were asleep. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed in the city of Concepcion and damage was also reported in the capital, Santiago. Over 700 people are currently believed to have been killed.

International aid charities said they were dispatching experts to Chile but predicted that the devastation would be far lower than in Haiti, where a January 12 quake killed 200,000 people.

Spain coordinates EU contribution

Spain, which holds the rotating six-month presidency of the EU, offered to help coordinate relief efforts for quake-hit Chile.

The Spanish government also called a meeting on Sunday of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

"Spain, is prepared to offer, as in the case of Haiti, all its available capabilities in the region to provide a coordinated response to this new disaster that has rocked a friendly and brother country," the Madrid government said in a statement.

Other EU leaders joined Spain in offering sympathy and aid to the South American state.

"The people of Chile are in agony today but Britain stands ready to help," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "We will do whatever we can."

Deep emotion

President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "deep emotion" at the tragedy, while French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Paris was "in consultation with its European Union partners, and is ready to respond to the Chilean demands for assistance."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Germany would be sending a relief team from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) to the region. He added that there was no news on whether any Germans had been killed or injured by the earthquake.

Fears that the aftershock would create tsunami waves prompted the US government to issue tsunami warnings for Pacific nations. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement that "additional destructive tsunami impacts" were not expected for coastal areas not already affected. The US tsunami warnings have since been cancelled.

smh/AFP/Reuters/dpa
Editor: Toma Tasovac