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The earthquake which rocked eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as western Rwanda and Tanzania at 08:15 local time on Thursday had its epicentre in the southern part of Lake Kivu, the Goma Volcano Observatory in eastern DRC reported.
"Preliminary results indicate that the earthquake that hit South Kivu and North Kivu [provinces] and Rwanda was located in the southern part of Lake Kivu, between the Ile Idjwi and the Rwanda coast, closer to Rwanda," it said.
It added that the estimated depth of the quake was 10 km. Its strength is not yet known, but more information is being awaited from the Lwiro seismic station, roughly 60 km northwest of Bukavu, South Kivu Province.
On 27 February, scientists at the observatory reported that seismic activity was increasing "very fast" on Mt Nyamuragira, some 200 km north of Bukavu. The volcano erupted in 2001 without causing casualties. However, nearby Mt Nyiragongo erupted on 17 January 2002, prompting up to 350,000 people to flee Goma.
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