Quake strikes near Indonesia's Sumatra

An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the meteorology agency said.

The epicentre of the quake lay at a depth of 27 km about 194 km southwest of Bengkulu province, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.

A local Padang resident said the tremors were felt strongly and people rushed out of their homes in panic.

The United States Geological Survey put the quake at a magnitude of 6.1.

Indonesia suffers from frequent earthquakes as it lies in the so called "Pacific Ring of Fire", an area of intense seismic activity where a number of tectonic plates collide.

On Wednesday, a strong quake struck off Aceh province in northern Sumatra, killing at least three people and damaging buildings on the nearby island of Simeulue.