A major, 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck in the South Atlantic Ocean on Friday, prompting an alert for a potential tsunami along parts of the Chilean coast, according to monitoring agencies in the United States.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile in the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a depth of just 10 km (6 miles) on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, sparking evacuations due to a tsunami threat.