TAIPEI (REUTERS) - A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck north-east off the island of Taiwan on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.

It said the quake struck at 5.03am on Thursday (5.03am Singapore time on Thursday) at a depth of 254km below the seabed, which would have lessened its impact.

The epicentre was 106km north-east of the capital Taipei.