Earthquake Jakarta/UNI: A 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's eastern province of North Maluku on Wednesday, leaving one person dead, local disaster officials said.
The tremor, which hit the hardest at III to IV MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) in Ternate city, caused the collapse of a telecommunication tower and killing of a worker, said Fehby Alting, head of the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency.
The quake happened when a worker was working to demolish the Telkomsel-operated tower whose lifetime had expired, whereas the tower collapsed and killed the worker, Alting told Xinhua via phone.
The official added that other buildings or houses in the city and other parts of the province were not damaged, while the risk assessments of the impact of the tremors have yet to be completed.
The earthquake occurred at 09:48 a.m. Jakarta time (0248 GMT) with its epicenter situated at 68 km northwest of Halmahera Barat (West Halmahera) district and a depth of 109 km under the seabed, the country's meteorology and geophysics agency said.
The quake was also felt in districts of West Halmahera and North Halmahera of North Maluku province, as well as Manado city, Bitung city, Minahasa district and Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province, the agency said.
The official of the agency did not issue a warning for a tsunami as the tremor would not trigger giant waves.
Indonesia, an archipelagic nation, has been frequently stricken by earthquakes for its position on a vulnerable quake-stricken zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."
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