Earthquake of 6.3-magnitude strikes Solomon Islands in South Pacific

Sydney, Jan 27: A massive earthquake of 6.3-magnitude jolts the Solomon Islands in Australia on Monday, the US Geological Survey said.

The powerful quake reportedly struck just after 4 pm (0500 GMT) at a depth of 17.7 kilometres (11 miles) some 140 kilometres southeast of the Pacific nation's capital Honiara, the USGS added.

On Friday, a 6.8 tremor hit with its epicentre in the small lakeside town of Service in Elazig province of Turkey but also affected neighbouring cities and countries. The powerful earthquake here has claimed 31 lives till now.

Earlier, last week another 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit a remote area of northwest China's Xinjiang region. No casualties were reported there.