Dec 23 - An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck 55 km southeast of Bayamo, Cuba on Monday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

Local authorities said that as of early Monday morning no serious damage had occurred and there were no deaths or injuries.

The quake was at a depth of 25 km (15.53 miles), EMSC said.

The Cuban National Seismological service reported the quake as a 6.1 magnitude event just off the coast of eastern Santiago de Cuba, with more than 100 aftershocks as dawn broke.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of neighboring Granma province in November causing some structural damage but no fatalities.

Most seismic activity in Cuba takes place in the region around Santiago. A fault line runs along the island's southeastern coast, marking the boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate, according to Cuba's seismic service.

The Cuban capital of Havana was not affected by the quake.