Earthquake in Indonesia, Tsunami warning in 28 countries

An earthquake of 8.9 on Richter scale has struck Indonesia. Tremors were also felt in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Patna, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar and several other cities on the eastern coast of India. India has also issued tsunami warning for coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands following the earthquake.

Indonesia issued a tsunami warning after the huge magnitude earthquake off its westernmost province Aceh, leading panicked locals to scramble out of their houses to seek refuge.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency is sending a rescue team to Aceh, after a massive 8.7 magnitude quake

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said an Indian Ocean wide tsunami alert was in effect, after a quake that the US Geological Survey said was 308 miles southwest of the province's capital Banda Aceh.

The quake was felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand and India.

The province was devastated by a 2004 tsunami that left 170,000 dead or missing, and that in total killed about 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean nations.

(With inputs from Reuters)