Washington (ANTARA News/AFP) - The main tower of Washington NationalCathedral -- the highest point in the US capital -- "sustained significant damage" in an earthquake on Tuesday, a spokesman for the site said.

"The central tower has been damaged -- it sustained significant damage as a result of the earthquake," Richard Weinberg told AFP in the aftermath of one of the strongest temblors to strike the US east coast in decades.

Parts of three of the tower`s four pinnacles, its uppermost spires, have fallen off, Weinberg said, adding that the cathedral also suffered "smaller structural damage," notably to flying buttresses and other pinnacles.

"Our stonemasons and engineers are working to assess the damage," he said. "No one`s been injured, thankfully."

The hilltop cathedral is perhaps best known as the site of US presidential funerals. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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