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BANGKOK: Thailand lifted a tsunami alert for the resort isle of Phuket and five nearby provinces, saying there was no longer any danger following a 7.5-magnitude quake Wednesday off Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Disaster warning officials lifted the alert about one hour after telling officials along the Andaman coast to prepare for a possible tsunami.
"The National Disaster Warning Centre has investigated and analysed more information, and found that there was no tsunami that could affect Thailand," the centre said in a statement.
"Therefore we want to lift our alert warning as of 4:40 pm (0940 GMT)," the statement said.
Provincial officials in Phuket said that while they had placed hospitals and local government bodies on alert, they had not activated warning sirens to order an evacuation of beaches.
A Thai-language warning was also broadcast on national television.
The alert was issued for the six provinces on the Andaman Sea where the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004, when 5,400 people were killed in Thailand. About half of the victims were foreign holidaymakers. - AFP/ac
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