Quake hits Indonesia's Papua island, four dead

The quake triggered a small tsunami that hit the Japanese coast but there was no damage, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The Indonesian authorities also issued a tsunami warning for Papua, but lifted it shortly afterwards.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 7.6 quake occurred some 150 km (95) miles) northeast of Manokwari in the Indonesian half of the island of Papua, at a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles). An official at Indonesia's meteorology agency said there were several quakes in the area during the night.

Priyadi Kardono, spokesman for the disaster management centre, said that the health ministry had confirmed four deaths from the quakes. Metro TV reported that six people had been hospitalised.

Kardono said that buildings had been damaged and power supplies cut in the area. Hotel Mutiara in Manokwari was damaged, with one of the three buildings in the complex flattened, he said.

A key Indonesian energy venture, the BP-led liquified natural gas (LNG) Tangguh project, is near the area affected by the quakes, but a BP spokesman said there had been no significant impact on the operations.

"There is no significant impact only a crack in the office building. The work continues," Nico Kanter told Reuters, adding that employees at the Tangguh operations had felt the tremblors.

BP's Tangguh project includes an operating site in Bintuni Bay, which is about 100 km south of Manokwari, as well as offices in Babo, Sorong, Manokwari, Bintuni and Fak Fak, according to its web-site.

This remote part of Papua is popular with tourists because of its diving sites and wild life, including birds of paradise.

(Reporting by Telly Nathalia and Muklis Ali; Writing by Sara Webb; editing by Sanjeev Miglani)