The quake struck at 2:38 pm (0838 GMT) at a depth of 33kilometres, 435 kilometres south-west of Banda Aceh, capital ofSumatra's Aceh province, which was laid to waste by the 2004 IndianOcean tsunami.
A tsunami watch was issued for countries ranging from Indonesia toThailand, India, Australia, the Seychelles, Somalia, Oman and SouthAfrica, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
The US Geological Survey earlier put the quake at magnitude 8.9.//DPA