Hong Kong, Aug 16 (IANS) An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted Papua New Guinea Sunday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake hit the region at 1509 GMT, Xinhua reported.

The epicenter, with a depth of 177 km, was determined to be at 5.740 degrees south latitude and 148.410 degrees east longitude, 136 km northwest of Kandrian, New Britain region in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.