An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale struck the Bay of Bengal in the early hours of today, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred at 6:40am (local time), USGS said.

The quake was felt at different parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, meteorological department sources confirmed this information.

Rubayet Kabir, acting officer-in-charge of Meteorological Department's Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, told Prothom Alo in the morning that the earthquake was felt at 6:40am and 25 seconds. However, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Rubayet said it was a moderate earthquake. The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Bay of Bengal adjoining West Bengal and Odisha. As a result, the coastal districts have been affected more.

The epicentre was 501 kilometers away from Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, it has been felt to a very low degree.