5.8 magnitude quake strikes off western Indonesia

JAKARTA, Oct. 19 — An earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude jolted western parts of Indonesia on Monday, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.

The quake struck at 14:31 p.m. Jakarta time with the epicentre at 33 km southwest Pulau Pagai Selatan of West Sumatra province and 14 km under sea bed, said Widjatmoko, an official at the agency.

Sixteen minutes later, an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.7 followed the main shock, he told Xinhua.

The agency did not issue a warning for a tsunami as the tremors did not potentially trigger it, according to him.

Indonesia has been frequently hit by earthquakes as it lies on a vulnerable quake-impacted zone called “the Pacific Ring of Fire.” — Bernama