SOLDIERS used bulldozers yesterday to push into a strip of Thai luxury resorts destroyed by tidal waves and picked the bodies of European tourists from ruined gardens and suites as the death toll climbed to 2,000.

Soldiers used bulldozers today to push into a strip of Thai luxury resorts destroyed by tidal waves, and picked the bodies of European tourists from ruined gardens and hotel rooms.

Volunteers dragged scores of bodies from Thai beaches, inland pools and once-luxury hotels today with the prime minister saying the death toll from earthquake-powered tidal waves could pass 2,000.