Two major earthquakes struck within half an hour near Chile's northern Pacific coast Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Service (USGS).

The USGS registered a magnitude 6.8 quake at 12:09 a.m. (0409 GMT) some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Vallenar in the northern Chilean region of Atacama.

The service registered a magnitude 6.3 temblor just over 20 minutes later some 2 kilometers away, followed by two more 5.4 and 5.1 magnitude quakes in rapid succession.

Chilean authorities meanwhile recorded the first quake as of magnitude 7.0 and the second as of magnitude 6.1.

The quake did not trigger a tsunami warning, and there were no immediate reports of injuries, according to local media.

Chile's coast lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" which is characterized by a high rate of seismic activity.