Rescuers on Thursday discovered the body of a Chinese descendant who was killed in the massive earthquake that hit Chile on Saturday.

Nerso Lai, who was in his 40s, was found dead in the debris of the Shung Hwa restaurant at the center of Concepcion that collapsed during the earthquake.

Lai, whose father is a Chinese citizen, was a cashier and also in charge of the administrative work at the restaurant.

He "was sleeping in one of the bedrooms at the third floor when a wall collapsed, which was the most probable cause of his death," Rodrigo Claramunt, deputy director of Investigation Police, told Xinhua.

Victor Anais, the manager of the building adjacent to the restaurant, said one of Lai's companions notified the authorities that Lai was buried in the restaurant in the quake. But the damage to the restaurant building hampered rescue efforts.

The magnitude-8.8 earthquake has killed more than 800 people in Chile.