6.7-magnitude quake strikes off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert

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An earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hit Indonesia's eastern Maluku province on Wednesday with no potential for tsunami, the meteorology and geophysics agency said. The quake struck at 2.33 pm Jakarta time (0733 GMT), with the epicentre 56 km northwest Maluku Tenggara Barat district and depth at 28 km under the sea bed, Xinhua quoted the agency official Alfar Abubakar.

"The tremors were felt strongly and triggered panic," he told Xinhua by phone, adding that many residents rushed outside their houses. There were no reports of damages or casualty reached by disaster agency officials so far, spokesman of National Disaster Management Agency Agus Wibowo told the news agency in a text message.

No tsunami warning was issued. Indonesia has been frequently stricken by earthquakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

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