An earthquake hit the north-east Algerian town of Laalam east of Algiers late on Monday, killing at least four people and injuring 67, local authorities in Bejaia district said, quoted by national radio.
About 30 houses collapsed, Algerian news agency APS quoted the authorities as saying, adding that large quantities of rescue material had been sent to the affected region.
A radio journalist in Bejaia said those killed were three children aged five, nine and 13, and a 26-year-old adult.
The main quake was followed by several aftershocks, forcing people to spend the night outdoors, he added.
The director of Bejaia’s health department told the radio that the injured were not seriously hurt, suffering from fractures or shock.
Algerian national radio said the quake, measuring 5,8 on the Richter scale, shook the Kherrata region at 7.44pm GMT.
Its epicentre was situated near the town of Kherrata, between Bejaia and Setif (respectively 260km and 300km east of the capital).
The tremor was strongly felt in the east of Bejaia region over about 100km, causing panic among the population.
Algeria, the north of which is in a seismic zone at the junction between the Eurasian and African plates, is regularly affected by earthquakes.
In May 2003, Algiers and its region were struck by a violent quake that killed 2 300 people and injured more than 10 000. — Sapa-AFP