JAKARTA ~ A 5.4-magnitude quake struck off Sumatra late on Wednesday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami alert was issued.

The tremor occurred at 11:57 pm, 126 kilometers southwest of Bengkulu, in southern Sumatra, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake was at a depth of 42 kilometers, the USGS said, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii did not issue a warning.

Indonesia was the country worst hit by the earthquake-triggered tsunami in December 2004 that killed more than 200,000 people in 11 nations across Asia, including more than 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.

The archipelago straddles several continental plates in an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where seismic and volcanic activity is recorded on an almost daily basis.