MOSCOW, July 24 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted the Pacific Ocean off Kamchatka's southern coast, causing no casualties, destruction or threat of tsunami, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Thursday.

    The earthquake occurred at 05:43 Moscow time (0143 GMT), and its epicenter was at a depth of 10 kilometers under the sea, 250 kilometers away from the regional center Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the geophysical service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.

    A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit northeastern Japan earlier in the day. The tremors were felt on the Southern Kurils, known as the Northern Territories in Japan, which are not far away from Kamchatka.