TASHKENT, Uzbekistan 

At least five people were killed and two more injured as a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit eastern Tajikistan on Saturday.

The tremor struck the town of Tajikobod, located some 165 kilometers (102 miles) northeast of the capital Dushanbe, at 7:14 a.m. (0214GMT), according to a statement by the country’s Emergency Committee.

Some 20 buildings were damaged and authorities are conducting search and rescue missions in the region, the statement said.

On President Emomali Rahmon’s orders, a special commission led by Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda has been set up to supervise the rehabilitation process, it added.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara