Strong quake hits Indonesia; no damage

JAKARTA: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, but there was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate word of damage, a meteorologist said.

The earthquake, which hit at 10:43 am (0343 GMT), occurred at sea about 280 kilometres (174 miles) southwest of the city of Bengkulu, at a depth of 30 kilometres, according to a statement from Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Agency.

A tsunami alert was not issued. "There are no reports of damage for the time being," agency staff member Iman Faturohman told AFP.

Bengkulu province was badly damaged in an 8.4-magnitude quake in September that struck off Sumatra's west coast, killing 23 people. It was followed by a series of major aftershocks.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province.