KHAO LAK, Thailand (30 Dec 2004) -- The tsunami death toll here is likely to rise further as at least 4,000 hotel guests and staff at Khao Lak are believed to be among the dead and missing, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti. As of 3pm yesterday, the death toll in the six southern provinces hit by the tidal waves on Sunday reached 1,976. This total included 1,208 deaths in Phangnga where 5,573 others were injured and another 1,598 still missing, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Mr Suvit said the toll in Phangnga was expected to increase since at least 4,000 of about 20,000 guests and 10,000 staff at tsunami-struck hotels and resorts at Khao Lak were believed to be among the dead and missing. Restoration was expected to take about six months for slightly damaged hotels and one year for badly damaged ones, bearing in mind that Khao Lak beach is 25km long and covers about 100 square kilometres in Takua Pa district, he said. Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said an empty 15-rai land plot on Phetkasem highway opposite Takua Pa district bus terminal was chosen for placement of 20 cold storage containers capable of keeping between 100-150 corpses each. The bodies of tsunami victims already collected would be stored there following autopsies. CP Capital Company's Takua Pa branch, opposite Wat Nikornwararam, or Wat Yarn Yao, would be turned into a one-stop service centre to handle inquiries and issue temporary travel papers to foreign tourists, she said. About 400 more bodies, already decomposed, arrived at Wat Yarn Yao yesterday afternoon. They were photographed for posting on bulletin boards for those searching for their relatives and friends to check. Thamniam Bamrung, assistant district chief for Phangnga's administrative office, said the corpses of foreign tourists already collected were being kept in cold storage containers at Wat Yarn Yao near Takua Pa market, Wat Bang Muang near Ban Nam Khem and Wat Lam Kaen near Phangnga naval base. However, the province had to cremate bodies of Thai victims already in advanced state of decomposition. | | A rescue worker looks at dead bodies at a relief center set up at a temple in Khao Lak, north of the devastated Thai tourist resort island of Phuket following the massive tsunami that slammed into the Thai coastline. Those seeking information about the cremated bodies should contact Bang Niang sorting centre in Takua Pa district. Yesterday, heavy machines scoured the ruins of hotels and resorts along Khao Lak beach where many more dead bodies were believed to be trapped underneath. Poor communication systems and shortages of steel-cutting tools delayed the work of search and recovery teams. Public health permanent secretary Wichai Thianthavorn said foreign tourists and Thais seeking refuge on mountains in Khao Lak risked catching malaria and would be given mosquito nets and repellents. |
