Earthquake rocks eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A moderate earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Ritcher scale jolted eastern parts of Indonesia on Thursday, the Meteorology and Geophysiscs Agency here said.

The quake struck at 11:52 a.m. Jakarta time (0452 GMT) with epicenter at 131 km northeast Ternate of North maluku and 41 km under seabed, an official of the agency, Rahma Baharuddin told Xinhua.

Indonesia, with a population of over 230 million, is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone, the so called "Pacific Ring of Fire", where two continental plates, stretching from Western hemisphere to Japan, meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic movements.