Google launches 'person finder' for Chile quake victims

WASHINGTON: Following the huge earthquake in Chile, Google has activated an online "person finder" tool to allow relatives and friends to find their loved ones .

The "Person Finder: Chile Earthquake" from the California-based Internet giant is located at Chilepersonfinder.appspot.com and offers users the choice of using it in English and Spanish.

It asks users "What is your situation?" and gives them the choice between "I'm looking for someone" and "I have information about someone."

Users can then search records by name or input information about someone.

As of 1:15 pm (local time) yesterday, Google's "person finder" was tracking around 1,400 records.

Google had also deployed a "person finder" following last month's earthquake in Haiti. It currently contains some 58,700 records.

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile killed at least 122 people and sent tsunami waves roaring across the Pacific Ocean yesterday.