Lambert Mende said the epicenter of the earthquake was located close to Lake Tanganyika near Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province.
He said that a house collapsed in Katana, near the airport in Bukavu, causing the death of the children.
The earthquake also caused some cracks in buildings.
Mende added that the earthquake could also be felt in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province which is about 217 kilometres by land on the north end of Lake Kivu.
