Earthquake Measuring 6.1 Hits West Siang In Arunachal Pradesh

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale hit Arunachal Pradesh on early Wednesday morning.

The earthquake hit the West Siang region of Arunachal Pradesh at 1:45 am.

The epicenter of the shallow quake was about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Along, and 180 kilometres southwest of the state capital Itanagar.

It struck at 1.45 am (2015 GMT Tuesday).

Arunachal Pradesh is India's least populated state, but is still home to more than 1.2 million people, according to the state government's website.

China's official state news agency Xinhua said the quake was felt in Tibet, which neighbours the Indian state.

New Delhi and Beijing for decades have disputed control of Arunachal Pradesh -- a dispute that remains unresolved.

India considers Arunachal Pradesh one of its northeastern states, while China claims about 90,000 square kilometres (34,750 square miles) of the territory.

Arunachal Pradesh also borders Myanmar and Bhutan. USGS estimated there was a "low likelihood" of casualties and damage from the quake.

PTI