'23 dead in Rwanda (Africa) after earthquake'

At least 23 people died in western Rwanda after a strong earthquake shook several countries in Africa's Great Lakes region.

At least 23 people died on Sunday in western Rwanda after a strong earthquake shook several countries in Africa's Great Lakes region, Radio Rwanda reported.

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Ten people were killed "straight away when a church collapsed" in the Rusizi district of Southern Province, the radio said.

Thirteen others were killed in Rusizi and Nyamesheke districts and some 250 wounded were transported to various regional hospitals, the radio said.

Public buses were used to transport the wounded, a witness in Rusizi district told AFP.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 1305 IST and measured six on the open-ended Richter scale, was 20 kilometres north of Bukavu in neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least two people were killed and dozens injured in Bukavu, hospital sources said there.

The quake was also felt in Burundi, Francois Lukaya, a scientific official at the Goma observatory in North Kivu told AFP.