Strong earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- A 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked New Britain island of Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said.

The strong quake took place at 1:12 p.m. local time (3:12 GMT) and there was no reports of casualties and damages nor immediate tsunami warning for the quake, which hit 470 km northeast of the capital Port Moresby at a depth of 32 km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement saying there was no threat of a widespread, destructive tsunami. (Xinhua)