20 Irish missing as four survivors return
However, several other families face anxious waits for news of loved ones, with up to 20 Irish people unaccounted for in parts of Southeast Asia devastated by Sunday’s disaster.
Particular concerns have been expressed for two Dublin women, Lucy Coyle and Eilís Finnegan.
Ms Coyle was with her British partner, Sean Sweetman, on the Thai island resort of Phi Phi when tsunamis struck. They have not been seen since. Friends have begun hanging posters of the couple in the area.
Ms Finnegan, 27, from Ballyfermot, was also staying on Phi Phi. Neither her family nor the Department of Foreign Affairs has been able to make contact with her. Last night her brother Robert made a heartfelt appeal to Phi Phi survivors to look at her photo image released to the media. “The more people who see the picture of Eilís the more hope we have.”
The missing woman had been on the beach with her boyfriend awaiting to sail to another location when the first tsunami struck.
She had planned to fly to New York for a reunion with her family on New Year’s Eve.
The department said the cases were top priority, but stressed no one has yet been classed as missing.
“The telecommunications system is down and it could be the case that they were taken from a place and dropped to an island with no communication,” a spokeswoman said.
Since establishing special helplines earlier this week, the department has received more than 2,000 calls relating to 700 people who were in the region affected by the tsunamis. The majority of these have been located.
Up to 20 were thought to have been hospitalised, mostly with minor injuries. A small number of the 700 stayed on in affected areas to help with the relief efforts, others moved to unaffected resorts, while more returned home. Among the latter were Louise McClean, Angela Gahan, Jackie Dunne and Adele Curry, who arrived back in Dublin yesterday shaken yet relieved to have survived their ordeal on Phi Phi. “We were lucky because our bungalow was beside a cliff and that gave us the chance we needed to get up onto higher ground,” said Ms Dunne. But they were surrounded by dead bodies as they attempted to get to safety.
Irish consular officials are continuing to search hospitals in Thailand and Sri Lanka. In addition, the department is continuing to operate its helpline on (01) 408 2308.
The Government has doubled its donation to the disaster fund to €2 million. Aid agencies Trócaire and Concern between them are donating the same amount.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern last night renewed his appeal to people with relatives in southern Asia to contact his department if they have heard news from them.
Information regarding missing people in Thailand is available at www.ceronsoftware.com/phuket and www.missing.go.th.
