Four SA tourists missing

2004-12-26 11:51

Johannesburg - Four South Africans were reported missing in Thailand as tidal waves struck the popular holiday destination, foreign affairs said on Sunday.

Departmental spokespeson Ronnie Mamoepa said he had no further information on how South Africans had been affected by the massive Indonesian quake, that has caused havoc in countries across Asia.

"Through our diplomatic missions we are co-ordinating with authorities in Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to check whether there are any South Africans affected," he told Sapa.

"In the meantime we are sending our condolences to governments that have been affected by this disaster."

The quake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale, struck a little to the west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Sunday.

Smaller quakes and tsunami's have ravaged the coastlines of six countries, with more than 1 000 people killed in SriLanka, the worst hit by the quake.

In Thailand, where many South Africans holiday in December, 99 people have been confirmed dead and 1 100 injured.

- SAPA