Strong earthquake strikes off the coast of Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY - officials issued a local tsunami alert after a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, Monday. There was no immediate report of damage or injuries.

The 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit 76 miles (122 km) West of Arawa, the capital of the province of Bougainville, at a depth of 27 miles (43), said the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that no there was no threat of a destructive, widespread tsunami. But the Agency indicated earthquakes of this size can sometimes generate tsunamis along the coasts in the 60 miles (100 km) from the epicentre.

Bill Yomba, an official from the Centre of the Papua New Guinea National of the disaster, said no there was no report of any tsunami hitting the coast and officials had not received all the reports of injuries or damage.

Earthquakes of this magnitude are relatively common in Papua New Guinea. The country is on the "ring of fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic areas that extends around the Pacific region and produce about 90 percent of the earthquakes of the world.

At least 15 die as plane crashes off the coast of Papua the Indonesia

JAKARTA - an Indonesian plane carrying 27 people it is crushed on the sea off the coast of the remote Papua province, the Ministry of transportation, said Saturday, and the media, said at least 15 people were killed.

The propellers Merpati plan travelled to Kaimana in Papua, a wooded and mountainous eastern province with one of the worst infrastructure in more 17 000 Islands archipelago.

"We are still checks on the status of the passengers," said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Department of transportation. "We also don't know what caused the accident, but the weather was bad enough at the time."

Indonesian media, quoting airport officials, said the plane, a MA60 made by AVIC International China, crashed 500 metres from the runway and 15 bodies had been recovered so far.

Several small carriers are used Indonesia and many have poor safety records. The European Commission, which had banned all airlines Indonesian airspace, lifted a ban in 2009 on Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia after that she improved safety standards.