YANGON, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and several buildings were damaged in a 4.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted southern Myanmar on Wednesday, a local rescue organization said.
Residents in many towns of Ayeyarwady and Yangon regions, including Maubin town, reported feeling the tremors.
"In Maubin, a Buddhist nun and a woman died when the ceiling of a meditation center collapsed. Another woman in the building also sustained minor injuries," Aung Kyaw Myint, an official from the Saytanarshin Rescue Organization, told Xinhua. The deceased and the injured were sent to the Maubin hospital, he said.
The diamond orb of a renowned pagoda in Maubin was also shattered, he said, adding that several buildings in the town were damaged because of the quake.
The quake with the epicenter in southern Myanmar's Ayeyarwady region struck about 5 miles south and southeast of Nyaungdon in the region on Wednesday, according to Myanmar's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
The earthquake, with a depth of 10 km, was initially determined to be at 16.98 degrees north latitude and 95.67 degrees east longitude, it said. ■