35 dead after powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines [Getty Images]
An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 has struck the southern Philippines, killing at least 35 people and injuring more than 200.
The quake struck on Monday and is the strongest to hit the country this year, according to Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The epicentre was located offshore near Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippine archipelago.
Bacolcol told Al Jazeera that the quake struck at a depth of 33 kilometres, about 32 kilometres southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.
