Some 300 people died in the Nias Pulau, 97.30 East Longitude and 1.05 North Latitude, over the earthquake which happened at local time 23:05 Monday northwest to the Sumatra Island and lasted some three minutes, local media Metro TV reported here Tuesday.

The epicenter was found at 97.01 East Longitude and 2.09 North Latitude, 30 kilometers under the sea, it added.

It could also be felt in Sigapore and Malaysia, but there have been no signs that the earthquake will trigger off tsunami in Indonesia, according to officials from the Indonesian Geographical and Meteorological Agency.

The earthquake caused panic in Banda Aceh, 95.20 East Longitudeand 5.34 North Latitude, where the December 26 tsunami took the lives of 120,000 local people and made some 200,000 homeless, according to sources there.