A powerful earthquake struck Italy's southern region of Molise late on Tuesday night.

An initial report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said it was a magnitude 5.4 quake but the Italian Geophysics and Volcanology Institute (INGV) put it at 4.6.

The quake's epicentre was in Montagano, near the city of Campobasso, and it occurred at a depth of around 23 km (14.3 miles), the INGV said.

Italy's Fire Brigade tweeted that no rescue request had been sent and no damage detected so far.