France jolted by 5.8-magnitude quake

Paris, June 17 A 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted France, authorities said, adding that it was of the strongest on record.

According to the French Central Seismological Bureau (FCSB), the epicentre of the quake which struck at 6.38 p.m. on Friday evening, was determined to be 28 km to the southwest of the city of Niort, in the Deux-Sevres department, reports Xinhua news agency.

Calling it "one of the strongest earthquakes recorded in metropolitan France", Minister for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Bechu, said that the evaluation of the damage is being conducted.

"So far, one minor injury has been taken care of by the emergency services," he said on social media.

In the neighbouring Charente-Maritime prefecture, numerous material damages such as cracks have been reported on buildings, but no casualty has been reported.

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