Tidal wave death toll rising

2004-12-26 09:09

Colombo - At least 160 people were killed and hundreds more missing after tidal waves triggered by a massive earthquake flooded Sri Lanka's coastal areas and hit the capital Colombo on Sunday, police and rescuers said.

Rescue workers found at least 150 bodies in the village of Muttur while another 10 were found in the town of Trincomalee which was submerged under several metres of sea water.

"The casualties could be higher," local rescue co-ordinator M D Rodrigo said. He said the water levels were receding, leaving a massive trail of destruction in the Muttur area.

Meanwhile in India, at least 26 people were reported dead when tidal waves smashed into the southern coast, police and officials said.

The bodies of 10 fishermen were found on Machlipatnam district, 300km north of Madras, a police official said, while 11 deaths were also reported in Singaryakonda, a coastal village 400km north of Madras.

In Madras itself, at least five bodies were found off the sea of the northern part of the city, witnesses said.

In Sri Lanka, hundreds were reported to be missing on the east coast and elsewhere after the distaster struck the coastal regions.

Bodies floating in the water

The main Colombo harbour was affected with at least one ship listing after the huge waves, a spokesperson for the port said, adding they had declared an emergency.

The tsunamis eased as they reached the capital, but several low-lying areas of the capital were flooded by sea water, police said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from other coastal areas also battered by the tsunami waves that the meteorological department said were caused by an earthquake that struck Indonesia's Sumatra island in the Indian Ocean.

A police official in Matara, 160km south of here, said he feared dozens could be dead, but there was no official body count yet.

"There are many people who have seen bodies floating in the water," the officer said by telephone. "The water level is going down, but we have a huge problem of water as sea water has got into the drinking supply water."

Quake 1 400km away

The waves came after a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean struck Indonesia, some 1 400km away.

Hundreds of villages along the island's eastern and southern seaboard as well as towns along the southern coast were battered with many houses completely destroyed, police said.

Tourist resorts along the coast said they were badly hit with almost all of them flooded.

Reports from the coastal area suggested a stretch of over 800km from Trincomalee in the island's east to Colombo in the south had been hit by huge tidal waves.

Meanwhile, tremors from the Indonesian quake were felt in the South Asian nation of Bangladesh but officials said there were no reports of casualties.

- AFP