The quake’s epicentre was around 30km from the town of Niksic in western Montenegro and 25km from the Bosnian town of Bileca.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The tremor had a depth of about 7.6km and was felt as far as the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, more than 200km away.

The Balkans are an area of high seismic activity and prone to earthquakes.

A magnitude 5.7 quake struck the same region in April 2022, killing one person and injuring several others in Stolac, Bosnia.

In December 2020, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit central Croatia, killing seven people and destroying hundreds of buildings and homes.

In March that same year, the Croatian capital Zagreb was hit by a magnitude 5.3 earthquake that caused extensive damage.

And in Albania, which borders Montenegro, more than 50 people were killed in a 2019 magnitude 6.4 earthquake that also left thousands homeless.