Death toll in Asian quake disaster over 55,000
JAKARTA (AFX - The confirmed death toll from the massive earthquake and tidal waves that devastated much of Asia's coastline passed 55,000, with officials warning the figure was likely to rise steeply.
In Indonesia, the government's disaster relief centre said at least 27,174 were killed after the country took the full force of the huge earthquake and tidal waves that swallowed entire coastal villages.
In Sri Lanka more than 17,600 people, including at least 70 foreigners, were killed in Sunday's disaster.
More than 8,500 people were reported killed in India with many more victims expected, officials said.
Among them were about 4,000 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.
More than 1,500 people were killed, among them more than 700 foreign tourists, in southern Thailand, officials said.
In Myanmar at least 90 people were killed, according to the UN, while in Malaysia 65 people, including many elderly and children, were dead, officials said.
At least 55 people including two British holidaymakers were killed in the tourist paradise of Maldives while another 69 were missing, officials said.
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