3️⃣ *A powerful earthquake has hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu,* smashing buildings in the capital Port Vila including one used by foreign embassies, with a *witness telling AFP of bodies lying in the city.* 🇻🇺 The *7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 57 kilometres (35 miles),* some 30 kilometres off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu's main island, at 12:47 pm (0147 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey. A *5.5-magnitude aftershock struck minutes later, followed by a string of lesser tremors* -- shaking the low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people that lies in the quake-prone Pacific Rim of Fire. The *ground floor of a four-storey concrete block in Port Vila* -- used by US, French, British, Australian and New Zealand diplomatic missions -- *was flattened, AFP photos showed.*