As rescue dogs combed the fetid coastline, where emergency personnel believe huge waves swept hundreds to their deaths, the government said three days of mourning would be observed from Sunday in honor of the quake victims.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday begins a two-day visit to assess the damage and the relief requirements.
The official death toll stands at 802, but President Michelle Bachelet, touring the heart of the disaster zone for the first time five days after the quake, said it included some 200 people who should be listed as missing but were prematurely added to the death toll.
Chile's deputy interior minister Patricio Rosende, in an apparent attempt to clarify the figures, read out "the complete list of the 279 Chileans who have been fully identified by authorities," although he did not lower the official toll.
Bachelet, who called for the national flag to be hung from each house during the mourning period, predicted it could take up to four years for the South American nation to fully recover from its worst quake in half a century.
The stench of death was everywhere as Bachelet arrived in the country's hard-hit second city Concepcion to inspect the massive aid operation struggling to get food and water to ravaged areas.
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