Powerful quake hits Africa

An earthquake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale struck east Africa on Monday, prompting workers to evacuate offices in the Kenyan capital.

The quake, which epicentre was near the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika (according to the Observatory of Earth Sciences in the French city of Strasbourg) - which marks the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania - was also felt in the Burundian capital Bujumbura and in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The tremor was also felt in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, where staff and judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda evacuated the tribunal buildings.

"I was sitting at my desk when I started feeling dizzy," said an AFP journalist who was in the news agency's office in Nairobi.

"The tremor lasted about 15 seconds, then we decided to leave the building," he added.

Most other workers in the building also evacuated, although there was no sense of panic.

Kenya's private Nation radio reported tremors had also affected other buildings in Nairobi, AFP reports.

V.Y.