A 7.4-strong earthquake hit near the island of Martinique in the eastern Caribbean, BBC reported Friday.

The earthquake struck at 1500 (1900 GMT) off the north-west coast of the island at a depth of 145.4 kilometres.

Two people were injured at the shock, an official said.

Unconfirmed reports claim that some buildings, including a bank, have collapsed in Martinique's capital city of Fort-de-France.

There were also reports that the islands of Guadeloupe and Dominica had felt the quake strongly.

Residents on islands further across the eastern Caribbean - as far away as Puerto Rico to the north and Trinidad and Tobago to the south - told the US Geological Survey that they had felt the quake.

The tremor was also felt hundreds of miles away in South America.
In the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, 500 miles (800km) from the epicentre, some people evacuated office buildings.

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