Ten killed as big earthquake strikes Bhutan

THIMPHU (Reuters) - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Bhutan on Monday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens, officials and the state-run Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) said.

The quake was centred about 160 km (100 miles) east of the capital, Thimphu, at a depth of 7.2 km (4.5 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

At least five people were killed in Mongar district, the epicentre of the quake, while the rest died killed in landslides in other remote areas of the mountainous region, the radio said.

"Houses, and monasteries and roads have been damaged. Mobile services are clogged," Lungthen Dorji, the governor of the eastern Trashigang district said.

People were still out on the streets, witnesses said.

"The aftershocks were felt at least six to seven times," a teacher from the town of Kanglung in Trashigang district, told the state-run radio.

Tremors were felt in the bordering Indian state of Assam and West Bengal, officials in the Indian Meteorological Department said.

(Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by David Fox)