6.1-magnitude quake strikes off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami alert issued

JAKARTA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A powerful quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Papua province in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, but did not trigger potential for tsunami, the meteorology and geophysics agency of Indonesia disclosed here.

The quake jolted at 16:42 Jakarta time (0942 GMT) with epicenter at 52 km southwest Keerom of the province and the depth at 106 km underearth, said an official in charge at the agency Dedi Sugianto.

"The epicenter is very deep, so there's no potential for tsunami," he told Xinhua over phone.

Indonesia lies on a vulnerable quake-affected zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."