Two earthquakes hit Turkey and its neighbouring countries on Friday, the first in the eastern Van province and the second off the Mediterranean coast.

The first tremor at 8:44 am local time measured 4.7 on the Richter scale and originated near Toshiba, in the mountainous Van province which is frequently hit by earthquakes.

A second quake registered soon after 9pm off the coast between Turkey and Syria, and was measured at 4.3 on the Richter scale.

The tremor was felt for several seconds in parts of Lebanon, Cyprus and northern Israel.

Neither earthquake caused any damage or casualties, according to local media.

Frequent tremors hit the eastern Mediterranean region and can inflict serious damage.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit northwestern Iran in late February, killing at least nine people in Van in neighbouring Turkey and injuring dozens more on both sides of the border.

Van, which was hit by a 7.1 magnitude quake in 2011 killing more than 500 people, was struck by tragedy a second time in February when two avalanches left 41 people dead.

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