A tsunami warning was issued for the whole of the Indian Ocean after an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale struck off the south west coast of Indonesia.

These are the scenes in Banda Aceh in pictures caught by a local TV crew as frightened and confused office workers quickly flee this building, many of them trying to get in contact with friends and relatives on their mobile phones. The quake was felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok as well as Southern India.

The region is regularly hit by earthquakes and 170,000 people were killed in Aceh in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Prime Minister David Cameron has just arrived in Indonesia and - though the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was too early to tell if a tsunami has been generated yet - it's warned authorities 'to take appropriate action'