1st LD: Strong quake strikes eastern Indonesia, tsunami alert issued

JAKARTA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku early Tuesday and was potential to trigger a tsunami, the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said.

The quake occurred at 00:47 a.m. (1747 GMT) with its epicenter located 148 km northwest of Maluku Tenggara Barat (Kepulauan Tanimbar) district and a depth of 131 km under the seabed, the agency said.

A tsunami alert has been issued for the province and the nearby province of Southeast Sulawesi, it said.