The strong quake damaged buildings in the neighboring southern Mexican state of Chiapas, authorities there said, but there were no immediate reports of deaths in either country.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Guatemala near the border with Mexico in the early hours of Wednesday, cutting power and injuring at least one person after a church collapsed, officials said.

The strong quake damaged buildings in the neighboring southern Mexican state of Chiapas, authorities there said, but there were no immediate reports of deaths in either country.

“The earthquake was felt throughout the national territory and damage assessment has begun,” said Julio Sanchez, spokesman for Guatemala's Conred national disaster center.

The earthquake hit 15 km west-northwest of the city of San Marcos, at around 1:30 am (0730 GMT) at a relatively deep 111 km, the United States Geological Survey reported.

An aftershock struck around 20 minutes later, the agency said.

Power went off in the Guatemalan departments of Retalhuleu, Quetzaltenango and Suchitepequez, authorities said. A church collapsed in San Sebastian, Retalhuleu, injuring one person, emergency services reported.

The Civil Protection Authority in Mexico's Chiapas posted photos on Twitter showing damaged buildings and homes.

The USGS initially reported the quake, which struck when many residents were asleep, as a magnitude 7.0.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on available data there was no tsunami threat from the quake.

In late 2012, a far shallower 7.4-magnitude quake off the coast of Guatemala near the Mexican border killed at least 48 people and trapped others under rubble.