A strong earthquake has hit eastern Indonesia. There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency says the 6.2 magnitude quake struck at 3:56 local time (0656 GMT) Friday in the eastern province of Papua Barat on Papua island. It struck about 18 kilometers under the earth's surface and was centered about 72 kilometers southeast of the town of Tambraw. The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8. Indonesia has frequent earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
