CANBERRA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said as many as six people have been killed in a strong earthquake off the Solomon Islands, and that he expected the death toll will rise.

    The quake with a magnitude 8.0 took place at 20:40 GMT Sunday with the epicenter located 45 km south of the New Georgia Islands, and around 350 km west-northwest of the capital of Honiara, at a depth of 10 km.

    There have been reports that a wave several meters high crashed into the country's west coast.

    The most affected area is in and around Gizo, a popular tourist and diving destination and the capital of the Western Province in the South Pacific nation.

    Sogavare said unconfirmed reports have placed the number of dead at about six and that he is expecting more.

    "Most of the islands are low-lying and the extent of the damage is yet to be known," he was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio as saying.

    He said that a team from his office, the Red Cross and police were headed to the zone.

    Earlier, a government spokesman said the quake and the tsunami followed have caused millions of dollars in damage around Gizo.

    The Solomon Islands government has sent a patrol boat to the New Georgia Island group to assist, and has called on ships and boats in the local area to help.

    The Solomon¡¯s National Disaster Council has said it believes several villages were wiped out, adding poor communications are hampering efforts to find out the full extent of the disaster.

    Meanwhile, communications broke down after the waves and tremors destroyed telephone lines as well as cut off power, which has disabled mobile telecommunications.

    The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii has now canceled the tsunami warning but warned that the danger for boats and coastal structures may continue for several hours due to the movement of rapid currents.