Magnitude-7.2 earthquake strikes in Irian Jaya, Indonesia

SYDNEY- A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia's mountainous West Papua province on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The quake hit 256 km (159 miles) east of Enarotali and was 58 km (36 miles) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

An Indonesian meteorological survey official said the quake struck on land and there was no danger of a tsunami off the thinly populated province, formerly called Irian Jaya, in Indonesia's far east.

The sprawling Indonesian archipelago is on the Pacific's "Ring of Fire" and gets regular earthquakes.

A magnitude 9.1 quake struck the northern Indonesian province of Aceh in 2004 triggering huge tsunami waves which killed more than 230,000 people in 13 countries around the Indian Ocean.
- Reuters