6.6 magnitude quake hits Indonesia

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia on Wednesday, officials said. No tsunami alert was, however, issued.

The quake had its epicenter at 184 km northeast of Maluku Barat Daya and depth of 173 km under sea bed, an official of meteorology and geophysics agency said, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We did not issue a warning for tsunami. This quake is not dangerous as its center is deep," the official told Xinhua.

"So far, there are no reports of damages or casualty," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management agency said.

Indonesia lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called "the Pacific Ring of Fire," making it prone to quakes.

--IANS

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