Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has sent cables of condolences to a number of south Asian countries, which were hit by tidal waves caused by a devastating earthquake off Indonesia's northwest coast.

Abul Gheit expressed his heartfelt condolences to his counterparts in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

Nearly 10,000 Asian people have been reportedly killed by horrible tsunamis triggered by the devastating earthquake measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, which jolted sea areas northwest of Indonesia's Sumatra Sunday morning.

India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia were the worst affected areas.

Tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars were swept away by the massive walls of water that crashed onto the coastlines, rendering tens of thousands homeless.