6.1-magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia, no casualties; rescue underway

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia's eastern province of North Maluku, with no casualties or damages reported so far, according to officials.

The meteorology and geophysics agency did not issue any tsunami warning as the tremors did not trigger a giant wave, reports Xinhua news agency.

The quake struck at 5.09 p.m. on Wednesday and the epicentre, with a depth of 10 km under the seabed, was determined to be 135 km southwest of Ternate city, according to the agency.

In the hardest-hit areas of Ternate city and Manado city, there were no reports of damage or casualties, disaster agency officials said.

"The jolts only caused panic among residents in Halmahera district. In Ternate, the jolts were felt by the residents," Head of Operation Unit of Disaster Agency of North Maluku Province Fehbi Alting told Xinhua.

"There were no building damage or those wounded."

In Manado, the tremors were also felt without triggering panic, a local disaster management agency official told Xinhua.

--IANS

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