JAKARTA, Oct 16 — A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian province of Papua on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning and no immediate reports of damage.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck around 2:48 pm local time (0548 GMT), was about 200 kilometres from the city of Jayapura, at a depth of 35 kilometres, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the quake with a magnitude of 6.4 at a depth of 16 kilometres.

The agency’s earthquake and tsunami director Daryono, who goes by one name, said in a statement no aftershocks had yet been recorded.

Indonesia, a vast archipelagic nation, experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

The arc of intense seismic activity, where tectonic plates collide, stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Indonesia’s Papua is on the western half of the large Pacific island it shares with Papua New Guinea. — AFP