Quake hits Taiwan, no reports of damage

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A 5.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Taiwan on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials and witnesses said.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 5:32 p.m. (0932 GMT) was in Nantou County of central Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement.

The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was at a depth of 7.4 miles.

Local TV showed images of buildings shaking and people running for exits.

A local rail system said for safety reasons it had stopped trains near the quake site.

World No. 1 contract chipmaker TSMC said its plants were not affected.

Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999, near Thursday's epicentre. Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings.

(Reporting by Ralph Jennings and Argin Chang; Editing by Sugita Katyal)