MAJOR QUAKE STRIKES OFF HONDURAS

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Honduras, sending tremors that were felt across the region.

There were unconfirmed reports that one person had died and several homes had collapsed, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.

The earthquake hit 64km (39 miles) north-east of Roatan, one of Honduras' Isles de la Bahia in the Caribbean Sea, in the early hours of Thursday.

A tsunami watch was put in place for Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

But it was called off after the danger passed.

The 7.1 magnitude quake struck at 0324 local time (0824 GMT) at a relatively shallow depth of 10km (six miles), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Tremors were felt in dozens of cities across the region and as far north as Cancun in Mexico.

People in Guatemala City ran into the streets in their pyjamas during the 30-second tremor, the Associated Press reports. Similar scenes were witnessed in Honduras.

"I ran out of the building and kept going for about a block before I looked back and everything had calmed," said Raul Gonzalez, a hotel receptionist in San Pedro Sula city, northern Honduras.

"It was really strong. I have never felt anything like that."

Your accounts of the earthquake

There were reports of several wooden homes, a bridge and a stadium wall collapsing in northern Honduras.

The collapse of a home in La Lima, some 230km (142 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, killed one person and injured another, a Red Cross official told local radio.

People in Honduras and Belize reported household items such as radios, televisions and picture frames crashing on to floors.

The extent of the damage on Roatan, the island nearest the quake's epicentre, was not immediately clear although one report said no major structural damage had been immediately reported.

A Red Cross spokesman told the AFP news agency that it was unable to make contact with Roatan - a resort island popular with scuba divers and snorkellers - in the hour after the tremor as power lines were down.

The Pacific Warning Center in Hawaii discontinued its tsunami alert after 90 minutes, saying the danger of a major tsunami wave hitting the coastlines of nearby countries had now passed.

But it warned that boats and coastal structures could still be affected by rapid currents caused by the quake.

BBC NEWS REPORT.