A 7.2 magnitude quake struck near New Zealand's South Island early Saturday morning. The US Geologic Service said the quake struck about 1636 GMT Friday (4:53 am Saturday), at a depth of about 16 kilometres, 295 KM southwest of Wellington, according to dpa. Damages were not known. The tsunami monitoring agency of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) earlier rated the quake at 7.4 strength on the Richter scale, and estimated the depth at 66 kilometres. NOAA said it had detected no destructive tsunami, but warned that earthquakes of this size can be destructive along coats near the quake's epicentre.
