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JAKARTA - A major 7.4-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia's Java island on Wednesday, sparking panic in the capital Jakarta and causing seismologists to issue a tsunami alert.
The quake struck less than 200 kilometres (123 miles) south of Jakarta at a depth of 63 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
In the city, people fled shopping centres and were evacuated from office towers as buildings began to sway.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts within 100 kilometres of the epicentre but said there was no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami.
"People were freaking out. This is the first time it happened in seven years," said one Jakarta office worker, Dhani Yahya, 32.
"I was working on the 18th floor. When I was going down, there was an old lady who needed assistance. All I could do was pray by myself." - AFP/vm
The quake struck less than 200 kilometres (123 miles) south of Jakarta at a depth of 63 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
In the city, people fled shopping centres and were evacuated from office towers as buildings began to sway.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect coasts within 100 kilometres of the epicentre but said there was no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami.
"People were freaking out. This is the first time it happened in seven years," said one Jakarta office worker, Dhani Yahya, 32.
"I was working on the 18th floor. When I was going down, there was an old lady who needed assistance. All I could do was pray by myself." - AFP/vm
