Tsunami death toll passes 59,000 mark
News Headlines: World
Published: 28-Dec-2004; 17:48
By: ITN
The death toll from the tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia has passed the 59,000 mark.
And the World Health Organisation has warned that as many people could die from diseases in the aftermath of the disaster as were killed by the giant waves themselves.
The Indonesian Government said the death toll there had risen to 27,174 with more than 100,000 injured.
Sri Lankan officials have reported 18,706 deaths and 1,516 were killed in Thailand. India's official death toll stands at 11,499
All four countries expect the final lists to be much higher.
A Thai disaster official said 770 bodies, both foreigners and Thais, has been retrieved along the Khao Lak beach north of Phuket.
In Sri Lanka, 1,500 passengers are reported to have died, including more than 100 foreigners, in a train caught by the giant wave as it travelled from Colombo to the southern city of Matara.
Seventeen Britons have so far been confirmed as among the fatalities - ten in Thailand, four in Sri Lanka and three in the Maldives. The toll is expected to climb.
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