13 dead, 200 injured in Tanzania earthquake: local official

At least 13 people were killed and 203 injured in northwest Tanzania when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country Saturday, local authorities told AFP.

"The toll has climbed from 11 people dead to 13 and from 192 injured to 203," said Deodatus Kinawilo, District Commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake.

"For now, the situation is calm and under control," said Kinawilo, who was reached by telephone.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity ©Tony Karumba (AFP/File)

"Some people have been discharged from hospital," he told AFP. "We don't expect many more injuries. We'll see tomorrow."

Residents of Bukoba had said earlier that some houses there had caved in, and Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district, had said "rescue operations are ongoing".

The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria, according to the US Geological Survey.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.

An AFP correspondent in Dar es Salaam whose mother's family lives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed.

"My brother was driving around town, suddenly he heard the ground shaking and people starting running around and buildings collapsing," he said.

The quake rattled the entire province of Kagera. Parts of Mwanza region further south also felt the quake but there was no impact, he said.

No damage had been reported in the economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some 1,400 kilometres southeast of Bukoba.

"It's safe in Dar but we are still worried about the safety of our family," the AFP correspondent added. "The regional hospital is overwhelmed and can't handle any more patients."

"Emergency operations are poor and the government isn't saying anything," he said.

The earthquake was felt as far away as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said.

"The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala.</s>Image copyright AP Image caption Major earthquakes are rare in East Africa's Great Rift Valley

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has killed at least 13 people and injured 203 in northern Tanzania, the authorities say.

The quake struck close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda near Lake Victoria.

Images posted on social media showed significant damage to buildings in Bukoba, a city of more than 70,000 people where most casualties were reported.

Tremors were felt as far away as western Kenya.

"This incident has caused a lot of damage," Deodatus Kinawila, the district commissioner of Bukoba, told the BBC.

"For now, the situation is calm and under control," he said later.

Image copyright AP Image caption This boy is one of more than 200 people injured in the quake

"Some people have been discharged from hospital," he added. "We don't expect many more injuries."

The US Geological Survey says the quake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 15:27 local time on Saturday (12:27 GMT).

East Africa's Great Rift Valley runs along a geological fault line but major earthquakes there are rare.

A magnitude six quake struck the Tanzanian town of Arusha, east of Bukoba, in July 2007.</s>Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity. By Tony Karumba (AFP/File)

Dar es Salaam (AFP) - At least 13 people were killed and 203 injured in northwest Tanzania when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the country Saturday, local authorities told AFP.s

"The toll has climbed from 11 people dead to 13 and from 192 injured to 203," said Deodatus Kinawilo, District Commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake.

"For now, the situation is calm and under control," said Kinawilo, who was reached by telephone.

"Some people have been discharged from hospital," he told AFP. "We don't expect many more injuries. We'll see tomorrow."

Residents of Bukoba said earlier that some houses there had caved in, and Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district said "rescue operations were ongoing".

The earthquake was felt as far as nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said.

"The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.

An AFP correspondent in the Tanzanian capital whose mother's family lives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed and that the regional hospital was overwhelmed and could not handle any more patients.

"My brother was driving around town, suddenly he heard the ground shaking and people starting running around and buildings collapsing," he said.

No damage had been reported in the capital, Dar es Salaam, he added.</s>Houses damaged following an earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude which struck Tanzania's northwestern Great Lakes Zone on September 10, 2016. By (AFP)

Dar es Salaam (AFP) - At least 16 people died and 253 were injured in a 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck northwest Tanzania, local authorities said Sunday.

As rescuers scrambled to find survivors from the Saturday quake, premier Kassim Majaliwa headed to the worst-hit city, Bukoba, to attend a mourning ceremony at its stadium.

President John Magufuli, who is from the region, said he was "deeply saddened."

Salum Kijuu, governor of Kagera province where Bukoba is located, told AFP "the current toll is 16 dead, 253 injured, 840 buildings destroyed, including 44 public buildings."

He said most of the casualties and damage occurred in Bukoba district itself. A group of 15 boarders at a boys' secondary school was believed to be among the casualties there.

The previous toll from local authorities was 14 dead and 200 injured.

The quake struck at 1227 GMT in a region near Lake Victoria and the borders of Uganda and Rwanda, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Its epicentre was 23 kilometres (15 miles) east of the northwestern town of Nsunga, in Bukoba district.

Bukoba suffered widespread damage, with 270 houses destroyed and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said in a statement.

Its main hospital was stretched to nearly full capacity and had limited stocks of medicine.

"Telecommunications have been disrupted and we are trying to get a clear picture of the damage to hospitals and other essential infrastructure," Andreas Sandin, Red Cross operations coordinator in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, said in a statement.

"We ran out immediately, part of my house collapsed," Bukoba resident Jonathan Mbelwa was quoted as saying in Tanzania's Swahili-language Habari Leo newspaper.

"Even the old people say they've never seen an earthquake as big as this in these parts," he added.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.

An AFP correspondent who has relatives in Bukoba said 10 family houses had collapsed.

No damage was reported in Tanzania's economic capital, Dar es Salaam, which is located some 1,400 km southeast of Bukoba.

"It's safe in Dar but we are still worried about the safety of our family," the AFP correspondent added. "The regional hospital is overwhelmed and can't handle any more patients."

The earthquake was felt as far away as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the USGS said.

"So far, no further damages have been reported in Kenya, and minor damages reported in Uganda," the Red Cross said.

But in Rwanda the shaking was felt across the country, with hotel staff and half-dressed visitors seen rushing out of their rooms in the capital, Kigali, when the quake struck.

In the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, the president's spokesman, Willy Nyamitwe, tweeted "I just felt an earthquake at 1429".</s>An earthquake measuring 5.7 hit Tanzania on Saturday and was felt in nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said, as reports came in of collapsed homes.

The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres east of the north western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but residents of the Tanzanian town of Bukoba, near the epicentre, told AFP some houses there had caved in.

In Uganda, the earthquake was most felt in central and the southern parts of the country including the capital Kampala.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.</s>DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — A Tanzanian police official says that at least 11 people have died in one town in the 5.7-magnitude earthquake that shook the Lake Victoria region, while the president says that many are dead.

Augustine Olomi, regional police commander for Kagera region, said Saturday that the 11 who died were in brick structures in Bukoba.

A statement from the Tanzanian president's office says that he was "shocked by reports of the earthquake that caused the death of many people, injury to others and destruction of property."

The quake was felt as far as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda.</s>At least 11 dead, 100 injured in Tanzania earthquake: police

At least 11 people were killed and around 100 injured in Tanzania's Bukoba district when an earthquake hit the country on Saturday, a district police chief told AFP.

"We currently have 11 people dead and more than 100 injured, several of whom have been hospitalised... rescue operations are ongoing," Augustine Ollomi, the Kagera province police chief in charge of the Bukoba district said by telephone.

Residents of the Tanzanian town of Bukoba, near the epicentre, had earlier told AFP that some houses there had caved in.

The earthquake measured 5.7 and was felt in nearby Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre of the 1227 GMT quake was about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the north-western town of Nsunga on the border of Lake Victoria.

"The walls of my home shook as well as the fridge and the cupboards," also said an AFP correspondent in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Earthquakes are fairly common in the Great Lakes region but are almost always of low intensity.</s>NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 has shaken Tanzania in East Africa.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Saturday that there is a low likelihood of casualties and damage from the quake in the Lake Victoria region whose tremors were felt as far as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of the lake. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda.

Recent earthquakes in the area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides. The last quake in the region was in 2004 and measured 4.7.</s>At least 11 people were killed after an earthquake with a magnitude 5.7 struck the northern part of the country.

According to authorities 192 were injured by the earthquake in northern Tanzania.

The quake struck close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda near Lake Victoria.

Images posted on social media showed significant damage to buildings in Bukoba, a city of more than 70,000 people where most casualties were reported.

Tremors were felt as far away as western Kenya.

“This incident has caused a lot of damage,” Deodatus Kinawila, the district commissioner of Bukoba, told the BBC.

“As we speak now, the number of injuries stands at 192 and 11 dead. Because we are still collecting the information it’s likely to go up. Even the number of injuries is likely to go up.”

Rescue workers have told the BBC that local hospitals are full and cannot cope with the number of injured. Buildings have collapsed and people are still trapped underneath the rubble.

The US Geological Survey says the quake struck at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 15:27 local time (12:27 GMT).

East Africa’s Great Rift Valley runs along a geological fault line but major earthquakes there are rare.

A magnitude six quake struck the Tanzanian town of Arusha, east of Bukoba, in July 2007.</s>The Tanzanian city of Bukoba suffered widespread damage in the earthquake, with 270 houses demolished and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said. By Tony Karumba (AFP/File)

Dar es Salaam (AFP) - A 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Tanzania, close to Lake Victoria and the border with Uganda, has killed at least 14 people and injured 200, local authorities said Sunday.

Deodatus Kinawilo, district commissioner for Bukoba, the town close to the epicentre of the quake, said 14 people had been confirmed dead following the quake that struck early afternoon on Saturday.

The previous toll from local authorities was 13 dead and 203 injured.

A group of 15 boys who were secondary-school boarders in the worst-hit city of Bukoba, which is in Kagera province bordering Uganda and Rwanda, were believed to be among the casualties.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa is to join mourners at the Bukoba stadium later Sunday.

The city suffered widespread damage, with 270 houses demolished and electricity disrupted, the Red Cross said in a statement.

Bukoba's main hospital was stretched to nearly full capacity and had limited stocks of medicine, the Red Cross said.

"Telecommunications have been disrupted and we are trying to get a clear picture of the damage to hospitals and other essential infrastructure," Andreas Sandin, Red Cross operations coordinator in East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, said in a statement.

Significant shaking was also felt in parts of nearby Uganda, western Kenya and Rwanda.

"So far, no further damages have been reported in Kenya, and minor damages reported in Uganda," the Red Cross said.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs in northern Tanzania, near Lake Victoria, killing at least 13 people and injuring 200 others. Tanzanian authorities report significant damage in the town of Bukoba. The governments of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda report tremors.