Tidal waves leave death, chaos

2004-12-26 10:41

Hong Kong - At least 523 people were confirmed dead and hundreds more were injured or missing as tsunamis unleashed by a massive earthquake off Indonesia hit the region on Sunday.

Sri Lanka's coastline was one of the worst hit areas, with at least 406 people killed and many more missing as tidal waves smashed into the island, a relief official and police told AFP.

Officials in Indonesia said 49 people were killed by tidal waves in Aceh province on Sumatra island, northeast of where the quake struck in the Indian Ocean.

Indonesian seismologists said the quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.

Police in India said at least 26 people died when a wall of water caused by the quake struck the country's southeastern shores.

More than 100 people were feared dead on India's Andaman islands when tidal waves hit, the prime minister's office said.

At least 36 people were killed and many more were feared dead after a series of tsunamis struck southern Thailand, including the popular resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi, officials and reports said.

In Malaysia, six people drowned and several others were missing after being swept away by a tidal wave which hit the resort island of Penang, police and rescue officials said.

- AFP