Earthquake hits off India's Andaman Islands

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale on Thursday struck off India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale on Thursday struck off India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were badly hit by the December 2004 tsunami, an official said.

HT Image

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

"The intensity of the earthquake was moderate. It was recorded north of the Andaman Islands on Thursday evening," an official at the Indian Meteorological Department said.

No tremors were felt in the archipelago—a chain of more than 500 islands in the Indian Ocean—the official said.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre was 257 kilometers (160 miles) east of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman Islands and 384 kilometers (238 miles) west of Mergui in Myanmar.

The 2004 tsunami was triggered by a massive undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.