Strong 6.8 quake hits near East Timor

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck deep beneath the seabed near East Timor on Tuesday but no tsunami warning was issued, a local geophysics agency said.

The quake hit at 13:57 pm (0657 GMT) at a depth of 469 kilometre (291 miles), about 271 kilometre northeast of the capital, Dili, according to Indonesia's geophysics agency.

"We did not issue a tsunami warning. There are no reports of damage so far," said Novita, an official at Indonesia's national quake centre.

"The quake was felt by the people in Timor island, but not strongly," she said.

East Timor sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity.