Magnitude 7.3 quake strikes New Zealand; tsunami warnings possible, says PTWC

 A tsunami warning was issued after an earthquake with an initial magnitude of 7.3 struck east of New Zealand's north island in the early hours of Friday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially pegged the quake at 7.3, then revised it down to 6.9. It said that the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).

Tsunami waves were possible within 300 km of the quake's epicentre, the PTWC said.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet) ((Aakriti.Bhalla@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @aakriti_bhalla;))