Earthquake hits near Papua New Guinea

CANBERRA, Australia -- A powerful earthquake struck Friday under the Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea, but there were no reports of damage on land and there was no major tsunami threat, authorities said.

The magnitude 6.7 quake struck 38 miles south of the island province of Bougainville and 33 miles beneath the seabed at 6:19 a.m. EDT, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake did not pose a major tsunami threat, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

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