The international airport on the southern Thai tourist island of Phuket was closed on Wednesday after a tsunami warning was issued following an 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, its director said.

'We have temporarily closed the airport following the tsunami alert,' Phuket International Airport Director Prateung Sornkham told Reuters by telephone.

People in Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phangnga, Trang and Satun were earlier ordered to move to higher ground because of a possible tsunami, disaster prevention officials said. – Reuters