5.7 earthquake hits northwest Tanzania, 14 dead and many injured

14 people have been confirmed dead and many others injured in the 5.7 magnitude earthquake that hit northwest Tanzania on Saturday afternoon at a depth of 10km.

The tremor hit Bukoba close to the western shore of Lake Victoria and Nsunga in the northeast.

Earth tremor M 5.7 – 23km ENE of Nsunga, Tanzania

— Earth Tremors (@earth_tremors) September 10, 2016

Tanzanian police said over a hundred injured people have been hospitalized and rescue operations are ongoing.

“We have found 14 dead and over a hundred injured, many of them hospitalized. We are mobilizing and rescue operations are continuing,” the head of the Kagera provincial police Augustine Ollomi told AFP.

Most parts of East Africa also felt the tremor including Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya. The tremors were reported in Kigali, Iganga, Mbarara, Kabale, Kampala, Bujumbura, Bungoma among many other towns in the region between 12:00 GMT and 13:30 GMT.

Casualties have not yet been recorded in these areas.

Low-intensity earthquakes are regularly felt in the Great Lakes region making Saturday’s tremor an exception.

Experiencing earth tremor in Mbarara now…

— Raziah Athman (@RazAthman) September 10, 2016

Just experienced earth tremors in kigali

— Gideon KEMBOI (@kemboic) September 10, 2016

I felt the ground shaking in Muyonyo Kampala. I know there was a higher magnitude #earthquake somewhere.

— Mwebya Fred (@Ugaman01) September 10, 2016

Je viens de sentir un tremblement de terre à 14h29' à #Kajaga #Bujumbura #Burundi.

— Willy Nyamitwe (@willynyamitwe) September 10, 2016

PANIC as earth #tremor of unknown magnitude hits parts of western Kenya including #Busia, #Kitale and #Bungoma. pic.twitter.com/VgXftAJkKT

— Radio Citizen (@RadioCitizenFM) September 10, 2016

Big earth tremor in Bungoma 3.30pm. Anybody know the epicenter? Possibly somewhere in Western Kenya or Eastern Uganda.

— Eugene Lusweti (elusweti1) September 10, 2016