Strong quakes shake Indonesia

JAKARTA (AFP) - A series of strong earthquakes rocked Indonesia early Friday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

A 6.2-magnitude quake, with an epicentre nearly 250 kilometres (155 miles) southeast of Ambon in eastern Indonesia, struck at 0304 GMT, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said in a statement.

Earlier at 0216 GMT, a 5.8-magnitude quake struck near the same area. The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami.

Some 10 hours earlier a 5.9-magnitude quake hit west of the island of Java, 280 kilometres southwest of the capital Jakarta.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered tsunami of December 2004 which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.

The archipelago nation sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.