Quake rattles Taiwan but no reports of damage

TAIPEI (Reuters) - An earthquake of 6.0 magnitude rattled Taiwan early on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 12:59 a.m. was about 21 km (13 miles) north of Ilan on the east coast, at a depth of 96 km (60 miles), the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement.

Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin.

One of Taiwan's worst-recorded quakes occurred in September 1999. Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, it killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed or damaged 50,000 buildings.

(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Charles Dick)