Magnitude 5.5 offshore earthquake strikes near Russia's Kamchatka peninsula

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula early on July 20, according to the Kamchatka branch of the Federal Research Center's Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Seismologists said the epicentre was located at a depth of approximately 21 kilometres, about 229 kilometres from the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and authorities had not released information on any potential impact of the earthquake at the time of reporting.

The Kamchatka Peninsula lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," one of the world's most seismically active regions, where earthquakes and volcanic activity occur frequently.

By Sabina Mammadli