A strong earthquake jolted in Dhaka, Chittagong and several other parts of Bangladesh on Saturday noon, prompting the panic-stricken people to come out of their homes and workplaces.

There was no immediate report of casualties or damage in the quake that was felt at about 12:11pm.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in Nepal, where its magnitude was said to be 7.9 on the Richter scale struck35km east south east of Lamjung, the United States Geological Survey said.

The epicentre is 745km distance from North-West of BMD Seismic Centre, Agargaon in Dhaka, Bangladesh Meteorological Department said.

Our correspondents from Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Rangpur, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Dinajpur, Moulvibazar, Panchagarh, Kishoreganj, Megerpur, Netrakona, Bogra, Gazipur, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Pabna, Chandpur, Sherpur, Narsingdi and Sirajganj reported that the tremor also shook the districts triggering panic.

Witnesses said some buildings in Kathmandu in Nepal had collapsed. But there was no immediate word on casualties.

The quake was 31km deep and tremors were felt as far away as Bangladesh, New Delhi and other northern cities in India, witnesses said, reports Reuters.