Strong earthquake jolts Indonesia

A strong earthquake jolts parts of western Indonesia, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes.

A strong earthquake jolted parts of western Indonesia on Friday, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes, officials and witnesses said.

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There were no reports of damage as a result of the 6.1 magnitude quake that struck off the coast of Sumatra island, said Syahnan, the head of the local geophysics agency.

The quake was felt strongly for around 30 seconds by people in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, where some ran from their homes, witnesses there said.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a Tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Aceh.