Indonesian tsunami alert called off

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesian authorities called off a tsunami alert issued Thursday for the province of North Maluku after a 6.6-magnitude quake hit the area, a meteorology official said.

"I've just been told that the head office has cancelled the warning," Lutfi from the meteorological office in Ternate, the capital of North Maluku province, told AFP.

The earthquake, centered 57 kilometres (35 miles) under the seabed some 234 kilometres northwest of Ternate, struck at 1:40 pm (0540 GMT).