An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale occurred near Santa Cruz Islands at 12:17 p.m. local time (0417 GMT) on Monday, according to a bulletin released by the Hong Kong Observatory.

The epicenter was initially determined to be 11.7 degrees south latitude and 166.2 degrees east longitude, about 710 kilometers north-northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2009)