Word of a fresh alert caused panic in southern India Thursday, in the wake of Sunday's killer earthquake and tidal wave that killed more than 12,000 in India.

"I don't know who is spreading such panic. We sounded no fresh alert," Indian Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said.

Officials in India's Tamil Nadu state, which was particularly hard hit by Sunday's sea surges, said aftershocks in the Andaman and Nicobar islands could cause more high waves, reported the Press Trust of India.

Local officials overseeing relief operations in the district asked residents of coastal villages to leave immediately.

The latest report in the Hindustan Times Thursday said that 12,500 lives had been lost in India alone. Over 6,000 were in Tamil Nadu.