A major earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale jolted Aleutian Islands at 9:44 a.m. local time (0144 GMT) Friday, the Hong Kong Observatory said in a bulletin released here Friday morning.

The epicenter was initially determined to be near Andreanof Islands of Aleutian Islands, 51.8 north latitude and 177.6 west longitude, about 780 kilometers west-southwest of Unalaska Island of the U.S.

By press time, there have been no reports of human casualties.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2008)