The injuries, the extent of which were not immediately clear, occurred in the village of Kalemie, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from epicenter of the quake that registered 7.5 on the Richter scale, according to an AFP correspondent in the area.

"Local residents say several people were slightly wounded when the quake hit," the corresondent said. "Straw huts caught on fire ... and some mud brick house collapsed on the outskirts."

Residents said most people in the village had managed to get out of their houses before the damage occurred.