Manila: A series of earthquakes and aftershock struck islands off the north of the Philippines on Saturday. The shakes killed eight people and left around 60 injured, the national disaster agency said.
A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Batanes archipelago, the US Geological Survey reported.
About 20 minutes later, a second quake hit the same area near Itbayat at a magnitude of 4.5.
However, no tsunami alerts were issued after the series of earthquakes in the Philippines.
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The first quake killed five people while three were killed in aftershocks, Mr Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the disaster agency, told Reuters.
Mayor Raul de Sagon told AFP that around 60 others were hurt. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
Many people were still asleep when the first tremor struck around 4.15am local time, followed just under four hours later by the second stronger jolt.
The Philippines is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. It is an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Ms Kalinga