A moderate earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale shook the Turkish capital on Saturday, local private NTV reported.

NTV said that the quake hit Ankara at 12:15 local time (1015 GMT), but no more details were available.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey which lies on active fault lines. Two devastating earthquakes in the country in 1999 killed more than 18,000 people.

(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2008)