Sept 18 (Reuters) - Maria made landfall on the Caribbean island of Dominica on Monday night as a dangerous Category 5 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Maria was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour (260 kph), placing it at the top level of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane and wind scale, the Miami-based forecaster said in its latest advisory.

Forecast models showed the fierce hurricane aiming next at the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and at the island of Hispaniola, shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. (Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)