Strong quake hits off Indonesia

JAKARTA – A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit off Indonesia’s Bengkulu province on Tuesday, local geologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings issued.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles), 547 kilometers south-west of Bintuhan in Bengkulu at 14:36 pm (0734 GMT), according to Indonesia’s geophysics agency.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity, and Sumatra is particularly prone to earthquakes.