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Russian travel business on alert fearing tsunami threat in Thailand

The Russian Federal Tourism Agency has set up an operational headquarters in connection with an earthquake and a threat of tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand

MOSCOW, April 11 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Federal Tourism Agency (Rosturism) has set up an operational headquarters in connection with an earthquake and a threat of tsunami in Indonesia and Thailand, Chief of Rosturism press service Oleg Moseyev told Itar-Tass.

"We have set up the headquarters headed by Rosturism representative Grigory Sarishvili. Rosturism will open a telephone Help Line for the Russian tourists and their relatives, Moseyev said. Rosturism has been following the situation and will inform about the developments, Moseyev said.

Some of the Russian tourists on vacation in Phuket (Thailand) have been evacuated away from the coast to ensure their safety. We hope that the same has been done on the other islands, Moseyev added.

The earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 points hit the western coast of Sumatra on Wednesday. The powerful earth tremors have reached Singapore, Thailand and India.

The Thai authorities have declared six provinces in Thailand a zone open to tsunami threat. Local residents and foreign tourists have been recommended to move up to territories high above the sea.

Spokesman for the Russian embassy in Thailand Vitaly Antonov told Itar-Tass on Wednesday that the foreign tourists on vacation on the Thai islands of Phuket, Krabi and Phang- Na were being evacuated from zones of tsunami threat to highland areas.