At least 136 people were killed and hundreds of fishermen were missing at sea Sunday after high tidal waves caused by a massive earthquake in Indonesia hit parts of southern India, officials said. The biggest toll was reported from Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, whose beaches turned into virtual open mortuaries with bodies of people caught in the tidal wave being washed ashore. At least 100 bodies were found on various beaches in Madras, said R. Natraj, the city police chief. The death toll could cross 200, he said, adding "we don't know how many are missing at sea." In Andhra Pradesh state, which borders Tamil Nadu, another 36 people were killed in three districts, said state Chief Minister Y. Rajashekhar Reddy in the capital, Hyderabad. He said at least 200 fishermen from Andhra Pradesh were missing at sea. "This is the impact of the earthquake in Indonesia this morning. There were tidal waves in the sea and the entire coastal belt from Vishakhapatnam to Nellore (districts) has been effected," he said. The tidal waves rose as high as 2 meters (6.56 feet) in some places. The tidal waves were caused by the 8.5 magnitude earthquake that hit Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, said B.Y. Swamy, an official of the Indian Meteorological Department in the Indian capital, New Delhi. The department also advised people not to venture out to sea for another two days. Separately, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude was reported in the Nicobar Islands, a remote sparsely populated Indian territory in the Bay of Bengal, 2,250 kilometers (1400 miles) southeast of New Delhi. Panic-stricken residents, especially those living in multistory buildings, rushed out of their homes after they were jolted awake in the eastern states of Orissa and West Bengal and the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Tremors lasting a few seconds were felt around 6:30 a.m. (0100 GMT), PTI said. That was shortly after the quake hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra. In New Delhi, the federal government ordered the navy to help state authorities in rescue operations, and was closely monitoring the situation, NDTV reported.
