New Delhi:An earthquake of moderate intensity struck in the vicinity of Andaman and Nicobar islands in the small hours today.

The quake, with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter Scale, hit South Andaman region at 01:21 hours, the India Meteorological Department said here.

The Andaman and Nicobar group of islands were devastated by the December 2004 tsunami which killed over 2000 people.