Tidal waves kill thousands
2004-12-26 12:46
Jakarta - More than 2 250 people were confirmed dead and thousands more were injured or missing on Sunday in several Asian countries battered by tsunamis unleashed by a massive earthquake off Indonesia.
Sri Lanka's coastline was one of the worst hit areas, with at least 1 000 people killed and many more missing, the prime minister's top aide Lalith Weeratunga told AFP.
About 1 000 people were also killed in southern India, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told Press Trust of India.
Tamil Nadu was the "worst affected" state with possibly over 800 people killed, Patil said.
In Indonesia the death toll from the earthquake and tidal waves topped 150 and was expected to rise significantly, a government official told AFP.
At least 99 people were killed and more than 1 300 injured in southern Thailand, officials there said. At least 35 of the deaths were on the resort island of Phuket and included both foreign tourists and Thais.
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.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake registered west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra measured 8.9 on the Richter scale.