The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5 and occurred in the Andes about 200 miles east of the capital, Lima, according to the European earthquake monitor EMSC.
At least six people have died and more than 30 have been injured, the Spanish news agency EFE reports, citing the Peruvian civil defence. All the fatalities were in the province of Chupaca.
Extensive damage to buildings has been reported in the Chongos Bajo area near the quake's epicentre, as well as in the provincial capital, Huancayo. Hospitals and religious monuments are among the buildings damaged.
Peru is located in the so-called Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean.
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