At least 50 killed as earthquake rocks Indonesia

At least 50 people have been killed in Indonesia following a 6.4-magnitude undersea earthquake but there is no potential for a tsunami, officials said.

The strong quake rocked the province of Aceh causing several deaths and buildings to collapse near the epicentre.

The US Geological Survey said the shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake was centred about six miles north of Reuleut, a town in northern Aceh, at a depth of 11 miles.

A local disaster official told local reporters that a woman and her two children were killed in Pidie Jaya, 11 miles south west of the epicentre.

He said several mosques in Pidie Jaya collapsed as well as stores, houses and other buildings. Heavy equipment has been deployed in the search for survivors.

Roughly 70 people are believed to have suffered serious injuries.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.