Death toll in Asian disaster passes 26,000
Officials are warning the figure will rise steeply
Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The confirmed death toll from the massive earthquake and tidal waves that devastated much of Asia's coastline passed 26,000 on Tuesday. Officials are warning the figure will likely rise steeply. In particular, the Indonesian vice-president has warned he expects the toll in his country to reach as high as 25,000 once the true scale of the catastrophe becomes clear.
In Sri Lanka nearly 15,000 people, including 70 foreigners, were killed in Sunday's disaster.
More than 7,500 people were reported killed in India with more victims expected, officials said. Among them were about 3,000 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the epicentre of the quake, where thousands were missing after five villages were swept away, an official said. Around 4,500 were killed in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
In Indonesia, more than 5,774 people were killed as the country took the full force of the huge earthquake and tidal waves that swallowed entire coastal villages.
In southern Thailand, at least 1010 people were killed, among them more than 700 foreign tourists. Officials have said they expect the real toll to be twice as large.
At least 90 people were killed in Myanmar and the toll was expected to rise substantially.
At least 52 people including two British holidaymakers were killed while another 68 were missing in the tourist paradise of Maldives.
In Malaysia 60 people, including many elderly and children, were killed, officials said.
In Bangladesh a father and child were killed after a tourist boat capsized from large waves, local officials said.
In another tourist paradise, the Seychelles, 3 people have died.
Fatalities also occurred on the east coast of Africa: 100 fishermen were declared dead in Somalia; 10 people were reported killed in Tanzania.
(Map source: BBC)
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29/12/2004
