Athletes of the Chilean Olympic team in Canada decided to skip Sunday's closing ceremony and immediately return to their country, which was devastated by a strong quake, the USA Today reported.

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile in the early hours of Saturday killing at least 200 people, according to various media reports.

The newspaper said citing a spokesman for the Chilean team, which was represented at the 2010 Olympic Games by three Alpine Skiing athletes and their coaches, that some of them already contacted their families and "found out that their loved ones are fine."

The tremor occurred some 89 kilometers (55.3 miles) to the north of Chile's second largest city Concepcion, some 341 kilometers (212 miles) from the capital Santiago.

Some 50 nations have been placed under a tsunami advisory. Areas of concern are the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Australia, and Japan. Russia's Far Eastern region was also advised, but local emergency authorities have stated that the region is in no danger. Peru has called off a tsunami warning.

MOSCOW, February 28 (RIA Novosti)