Two people are reported dead after a powerful earthquake hit off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica Wednesday.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 7.6 earthquake was centered offshore, about 140 kilometers west of San Jose. It was followed by two aftershocks.
Officials say one of the two victims died of a heart attack. Some people had to be treated for injuries, but the number of wounded people was not immediately known.
The earthquake triggered landslides in Costa Rica and caused some structural damage in buildings and roads. Residents of the capital San Jose said phones went down, electricity poles rattled on the streets. The temblor also caused panic in Nicaragua where schools were suspended.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued tsunami warnings for Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua but cancelled them about an hour after the quake.
Costa Rica has been rocked by a number of earthquakes over the past two decades.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in 2009 killed 40 people, while a 7.6 quake in 1991 left 47 people dead and close to 7,500 homeless.