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JAKARTA - Nobody was killed or injured after a major earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia late Saturday, a disaster official said.
"So far, we've received no reports of death, injury or damage. We contacted Tual and Saumlaki, the two most populated areas close to the epicentre, and there were no reports of casualties there," Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told AFP Sunday.
"Despite the strong force, the quake was very deep so the shaking had no major effect," he said.
The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at 11:40 pm (1440 GMT) Saturday about 209 kilometres northwest of Saumlaki, Maluku province, at a depth of 165 kilometres, according to the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
A later US Geological Survey report registered the quake, in the Banda Sea, at a magnitude of 7.0.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
- AFP/ir
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