Tonga earthquake: Powerful 6.1 magnitude quake strikes southeast of island nation

The part of the South Pacific Ocean around Tonga is one of the most seismically active areas of the world

The quake hit 171.12 miles southeast of the capital Nuku'alofa at a depth of 66km (United States Geographical Survey)

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck southeast of the Pacific island nation of Tonga, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The quake hit 171.12 miles southeast of the capital Nuku'alofa at a depth of 66km.

Earlier, the USGS tweeted the preliminary reading of the quake to be 5.8.

The part of the South Pacific Ocean around Tonga is one of the most seismically active areas of the world, the USGS said, due to convergence between the Australia and Pacific tectonic plates.

Last March, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck between Tonga and Fiji.

Another powerful earthquake hit Ecuador, leaving at least 77 people dead.

The 7.8-magnitude quake hit the central coast, flattening dozens of buildings in the town of Pedernales, near the epicentre.