An alert issued in India that a new tsunami was about to strike turned out to be false.
The warning triggered panic in India and thousands of people fled from coastal areas as news spread.
But an Indian minister said the alarm was raised by mistake.
Kapil Sibal, India's junior minister for science and technology, said he had "simply forwarded" a message received from a US-based company to the Home Ministry mentioning the possibility of a quake of up to 7.5 on the Richter scale off Indonesia.
Sibal said: "Some official in the home ministry may have issued this as a warning without giving any thought to it.
"It is not in the national interest that any agency should create any panic amongst those who have already suffered and those who are trying very hard and courageously trying to help the victims of the disaster."
The minister also stressed that tsunamis can only strike when an earthquake registering 7.5 or more on the Richter scale occurs.
The warning triggered panic in India and thousands of people fled from coastal areas as news spread.
But an Indian minister said the alarm was raised by mistake.
Kapil Sibal, India's junior minister for science and technology, said he had "simply forwarded" a message received from a US-based company to the Home Ministry mentioning the possibility of a quake of up to 7.5 on the Richter scale off Indonesia.
Sibal said: "Some official in the home ministry may have issued this as a warning without giving any thought to it.
"It is not in the national interest that any agency should create any panic amongst those who have already suffered and those who are trying very hard and courageously trying to help the victims of the disaster."
The minister also stressed that tsunamis can only strike when an earthquake registering 7.5 or more on the Richter scale occurs.
