KFC leaves bad taste in mouth over tsunami ad

While people in coastal areas rushed to reach higher ground in the wake of a huge earthquake in Indonesia on Wednesday, the KFC Thailand fan page told followers to order a takeaway. "People should hurry home this evening to monitor the earthquake situation and don't forget to order the KFC menu, which will be delivered direct to your hands," it said. The post, which was later removed, generated a storm of outrage on Thai web pages.

Not finger licking good: The post put up by KFC, which was later removed, generated a storm of outrage on Thai web pages.u00a0Representation pic/Getty images

"The person behind this advertisement should be fired for their lack of common sense and responsibility," said one of the dozens of posters on the subject on the Pantip web board. A new message on the KFC Facebook page on Thursday apologised for the "mistake". "The KFC Thailand fanpage team ... would like to apologise for an inappropriate post relating to the disaster," it said.

An Indian Ocean-wide tsunami alert was issued after a 8.6-magnitude quake struck off the city of Banda Aceh and was followed by another undersea quake measured at 8.2. The tremor prompted fears of a repeat of the 9.1-magnitude quake in 2004 that unleashed an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 2,20,000 people, including an estimated 5,400 people in Thailand alone. But no large tsunami was generated by Wednesday's earthquakes.

Five die in earthquake
Five people were killed and a child was critically injured when a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northern Indonesia on Wednesday, the country's disaster mitigation agency said. At least two people died because of heart attacks, one died because of shock and a child was critically injured when a tree fell. Casualties and other damage were being assessed.u00a0