A death toll of 1,000 to 2,000 was feared on Nias island off Sumatra on Tuesday as Indonesia was struck by the strongest earthquake since the Asian tsunami disaster in December.

The warning from Yusuf Kalla, Indonesia's vice-president, followed the 8.7 magnitude quake that struck at 11:09 pm local time. It was centred 245km (150 miles) south-west of Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra.