Wellington - A magnitude-5.7 earthquake centred in New Zealand's

Wellington - A magnitude-5.7 earthquake centred in New Zealand's scenic Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island broke windows Saturday in the capital, Wellington, police said.

There were no serious reports of damage, but Radio New Zealand said windows in a Wellington harbourside office building were broken and some residents reported items shaken off shelves.

Seismologists at the state GNS Science organization said the quake, centred 40 kilometres west of Wellington at a depth of 60 kilometres, was widely felt at the top of the South Island and the bottom of the North Island.

GNS said it was the biggest quake in the Marlborough region for 45 years.

New Zealand is one of the most earthquake-prone nations on earth. GNS said it records an average of 26 quakes between magnitude 5 and 5.9 a year.