Washington - A moderate earthquake measuring 5.8 hit an area of the Indian Ocean east of Mauritius early on Monday, the US government reported.
The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 03.30 GMT, was located 304 kilometres north-east of Rodrigues Island and 889 kilometres east-northeast of Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, according to the US Geological Survey.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released. - Sapa-AFP