Deadly earthquake jolts Tanzania

A deadly 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern Tanzania on Saturday.

"We currently have 11 people dead and more than 100 injured, several of whom have been hospitalized... rescue operations are ongoing," said provincial police chief Augustine Ollomi.

The quake struck at 3.27 pm local time (1227 UTC), about 25 km (15 miles) east of the northwestern town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria.

The neighboring countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya also felt shockwaves from the quake.

"The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," according to an unnamed AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital, Kampala - about 150 miles away.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the so-called Great Lakes region, but are usually of low intensity.

President 'shocked'

Tanzanian President John Magufuli's office issued a statement saying the president was surprised by the depth of the destruction.

"The president is shocked at the reports of the incident that has resulted in the loss of several people, and many others injured and property destroyed," the statement said.

The privately owned "Mwananchi" newspaper tweeted that the quake had killed at least 10 people and injured at least 100 in Bukoba, which lies on the western shore of Lake Victoria, more than 25 miles from the quake's epicenter.

Emelensiana Benjamin, a resident of Bukoba, said houses there were so badly cracked that residents were afraid to enter them.

"We fear that they might crumble any time," she said.

bik/tj (AFP, Reuters, dpa, AP)