RESCUE operations were under way last night in south-east Asia after a tidal wave killed more than 11,300 and left thousands of British holidaymakers stranded.

The death toll is still rising and many thousands are reported missing following the quake, which registered 8.9 on the Richter scale and powered a wall of water across the region, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

People, homes and cars were swept away by the force of the tsunami unleashed by the quake, the fifth largest since 1900. The epicentre was off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where at least 4,185 people were killed by floods and collapsing buildings.

In Sri Lanka, there are a reported 4,500 dead, with a million more affected.

Indian officials said more than 2,300 had been killed along the country's southern coast. Another 289 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and two in Bangladesh.

So far, only one Briton has been confirmed dead -officials said a man on holiday in the Maldives died of a heart attack as the wave struck -but UK tourist chiefs believe about 10,000 holidaymakers could be affected by the disaster.

Unconfirmed reports suggested at least two Britons were among the dead in south Thailand.

About 5,650 British package holidaymakers were known to be in south-east Asia and there could be 4,000 more who had made their own travel plans.

There were 2,700 British package holidaymakers in the Maldives, of which up to two-thirds had been accounted for, and efforts are continuing to trace the rest.

There are 1,800 similar holidaymakers in Sri Lanka and 1,150 in Thailand, with about half accounted for in each country.

In a statement, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said an earthquake on this scale was "truly humbling, as well as profoundly tragic for everyone involved".

Mr Straw said British emergency plans had been activated, and said: "For the tens of thousands of British tourists in south-east Asia and their relatives and friends here, this will, I know, be a very worrying time. We are doing everything we can to assist."

The Foreign Office is advising against any travel to the Maldives and to the affected parts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh.

In Thailand, officials said the death toll included at least four tourists.

Thailand's British ambassador, David Fall, has travelled to the tourist resort of Phuket. An emergency response centre will be set up, but he said it was too early to know the number of British casualties.

A spokeswoman for Patong Hospital said they had more than 50 bodies at the hospital and were treating about 400 people, many of them foreigners.

The British Embassy in India said no Britons were reported hurt.

The UN has laid on disaster relief teams, while the EU has announced an initial £2.1m in aid. The Irish government pledged up to £700,000 in aid.

In the UK, the Department for International Development offered £52,000 to help fund the World Health Organisation's response team.

Meanwhile, emergency plans have been launched by tour operators to bring visitors home.

Keith Betton, of the Association of British Travel Agents, said four charter flights went to the Maldives last night to fly people home.

International Rescue, a North Yorkshire charitable organisation specialising in urban search and rescue, is waiting to hear whether it will be needed.

Director Julie Ryan said the group, which is based in Easingwold, would work with local organisations in affected areas.

She said: "Our priority would be to find people in the first few hours. When we arrive at some of these places, the communications networks are destroyed and there is limited information coming in about missing people."

If you or a friend or relative have been affected by the earthquake or tsunami in Asia, please contact The Northern Echo on 01325 505065.