Indians alerted in Phuket; High Commission watching closely

All Indians staying at Thailand's Phuket island have been alerted by the Indian High Commission in Bangkok following the massive earthquake of 8.7 magnitude that hit the coast off Indonesia triggering tsunami fears across the Indian Ocean.

"The High Commission is closely watching the situation and all Indians staying in Phuket have been alerted," High Commission sources said. The official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi said that the ministry was in touch with Indian missions in the region.

The Indian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia has said there were no reports of any loss of life. Control rooms have been set up by the Indian mission in Jakarta in addition to the consulate in Medan, sources said.

Sources also said that RIMES (Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia) indicated that only 36cm waves will hit the Indian coast, contrary to some alarmist projections of 6 metres.

The quake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island, US and Indonesian monitors reported, prompting an Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert. The tremors were felt far and wide in southern and eastern parts of India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

The quake's magnitude was 8.7 on Richter scale and it struck 431-kms off the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. In India, tremors were felt in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Assam and West Bengal.