A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City, but officials reported there were no immediate damages.

The quake struck 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the town of Pinotepa de Don Luis at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), the USGS said.

"It felt horrible and very strong, and it felt like it lasted two or three minutes," said a receptionist at the Hotel Las Gaviotas de Pinotepa in Oaxaca state, who declined to give her name.

The shaking was felt more than 360 km (225 miles) away in Mexico City, where some offices were evacuated.

Nonetheless, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said on Twitter there were no immediate reports of damage.

"Our representatives all over the state have reported to us that the preliminary situation is that there is no damage anywhere," said Felipe Reyna, emergency services coordinator in Oaxaca.

Mexican national oil company Pemex said it had no immediate news on the state of its Salina Cruz refinery in Oaxaca, the company's biggest with a crude processing capacity of 330,000 barrels per day.

But Oaxaca Governor Gabino Cue said on Twitter that there was no damage at industrial installations in the state.

(Reporting by Noe Torres, Ana Isabel Martinez and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Simon Gardner and Sandra Maler)

Source:
courtesy of REUTERS

by Reuters

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