Strong earthquake hits off India's Nicobar islands

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck India's Nicobar islands late Tuesday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, a United States meteorology office said. The US Geological Survey said in a dispatch received here, the quake struck 317 kilometers north west of Banda Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and at a depth of 24 kilometers. It was also located 176 kilometers south west of Misha on the Nicobar Islands and hit at 11.37 pm on Tuesday (1807 GMT). The area sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. The 2004 tsunami was triggered by a massive undersea earthquake off of Sumatra. http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/06/27/afx2844773.html