'An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude on the Richter scale has hit the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, but fell short of triggering a major tsunami alert.

The quake struck on Sunday with the epicenter at a depth of 10 kilometers, Xinhua reported, citing the US Geological Survey. "No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.'

Read more: Strong Quake Hits Papua New Guinea