A powerful earthquake hit Afghanistan and neighbouring countries this morning.
The quake sent families running from their homes in the capital of Tajikistan and rattled Pakistan and India to the east. There are no reports yet of casualties or damage.
Scientists from the seismic centre in the northern Pakistan city of Peshawar said the quake - which struck at 7.05 a.m. (Irish time) - measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and had its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan.
An official with the India Meteorological Department put the scale of the quake at 6.3 on the Richter scale. Force six is powerful enough to cause widespread damage.
The official said tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi because the focus was deep inside the earth in Afghanistan. He said the tremors measured 3.0 on the Richter scale in Delhi and there were no reports of damage.
z