Strong 6.9-magnitude quake rocks Indonesia

A strong 6.9-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia's Sulawesi island today but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the country's geophysics agency said. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:51 am (0621 IST), was located 234 kilometres southeast of Bau Bau island in southeast Sulawesi province.

It was measured at a depth of 670 kilometres. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake was located too deep to generate a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, but tremors were felt on islands as far away as Timor.

Dozens of employees at a two-storey television building in the East Timorese capital Dili rushed outside in panic, an AFP correspondent witnessed. "I just arrived in my office when I suddenly felt the shaking. It's quite strong. Friends screamed to tell people to go outside the building," said a man who worked in the building.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.8-magnitude. Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.