Quake strikes off Indonesia's Maluku

JAKARTA, Saturday (AFP)

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku on Saturday, but there was no threat of a tsunami and no immediate reports of casualties or damage, seismologists said.

The quake hit at 10:34 am (0134 GMT) 267 kilometres (165 miles) northwest of Saumlaki in Maluku, the Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said. It was registered at a depth of 30 kilometres.

There were no reports of damage and the quake was not felt in Saumlaki, an agency geologist told AFP.

No tsunami alert was issued. Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet causing seismic and volcanic activity.