Prague, 10 January 1997 (RFE/RL) -- A strong earthquake rocked a remote mountainous area of Kyrgyzstan yesterday, but there are no reports of damages or casualties.
Interfax news agency quotes the Russian ministry for emergencies as saying the earthquake struck at 14:44 Central European Time and had a strength at its epicenter of up to six points on the Richter scale. The Kazakh Seismology Institute put the strength of the earthquake somewhat stronger.
The epicenter was in the village of Kazarman, 200 kilometers southeast of the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. Our correspondent contacted Bishkek tonight and was told the earthquake had been felt there, but that there have been no official announcements about it on state radio or television and that everything appears normal.
Interfax says tremors measuring three points were also felt in Almaty, capital of the neighboring Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan.