A MAJOR earthquake struck off the coast of the island of Mindanao in the Philippines today prompting a tsunami warning.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the earthquake measured 7.2 but the US Geological Survey later downgraded the quake to 6.8.

The quake was measured at a depth of 10km, 68km south of the city of General Santos, the Centre added, prompting a warning of hazardous tsunami waves within 300km of the epicentre in Indonesia and the Philippines.

That tsunami threat has since been cancelled.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.