(ANSA) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 11 - At least two people died as a result of a violent earthquake, of magnitude 7.6, which struck eastern Papua New Guinea today.
The quake occurred about 67 kilometers from the city of Kainantu, at a depth of 91 kilometers, writes the US Geophysical Institute (Usgs).
The USGS initially launched a tsunami warning for the coastal neighborhoods, but then declared that the threat "is now over".
Congressman Kessy Sawang said one of the victims was hit by an avalanche of mud in the remote mountain village of Matoko and numerous wounded were flown to hospital.
There has been "serious damage" and there are fears that there are more "wounded and dead" in the villages along the Finisterre mountain range and in some coastal areas, Sawang stressed.
There is also damage to buildings near Madang City and inland.
The earthquake was felt as far as the capital PortMoresby, about 480 kilometers away.
Papua New Guinea is located on the Pacific "ring of fire", where frequent earthquakes occur.
In neighboring Indonesia in 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including around 170,000 in Indonesia.
(HANDLE).