JAKARTA, July 31 (Xinhuanet)-- An earthquake measuring 5.9 on Richter scale rocked Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's Aceh province and surrounding areas late Saturday, promoting panic in the city, but no damage or injuries were reported.

    The epicenter was about 33 kilometers below the Banda Aceh Sea,some 98 kilometers west-southwest of Banda Aceh, said Mata Le, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Banda Aceh.

    The quake occurred at 22:12 p.m. local time, Saturday.

    "This is the strongest quake occurring in the province in July," Antara news agency quoted Mata as saying on Sunday. Twenty to 30temblors were recorded every day in the area during the past six months, he added.

    Aceh was hit by a strong quake on Dec. 26 last year that produced a deadly tsunami. The Indian Ocean disaster killed more than 176,000 people in 11 countries, and left about 50,000 missingand hundreds of thousands homeless. Enditem