TAIPEI - AN EARTHQAUKE measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook southern Taiwan on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 2227 GMT (6.27am Singapore time), was 124kmsouth-west of Kaohsiung on the west coast, at a depth of 78 km, the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement.

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. Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings. -- REUTERS