Foreign Affairs helplines deal with 1,000 calls

LARGE numbers of Irish families continued to wait anxiously last night for news of loved ones in regions affected by Sunday's tsunamis.

Department of Foreign Affairs officials manning three dedicated helpline numbers estimated that they had received more than 1,000 calls by yesterday afternoon.

The callers were a mixture of people concerned about relatives in affected areas and those seeking advice on travelling to southern Asia.

One newspaper report yesterday speculated that an Irishman was feared to have been killed on the Thai island resort of Phuket, but there were no confirmed reports of any Irish casualties, the department said.

Department and consular officials were last night continuing efforts to trace Irish people in the countries affected. They were using "all possible information sources", a spokesman said.

Irish pubs have become focal points for families seeking information. Several outlets in Thailand reported taking calls from families looking for loved ones, and contacting Ireland with names of people who had turned up safely.

The department issued a warning yesterday to those considering travelling to affected regions. The countries most affected, it said, were the Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

"The extent of the damage in these countries is not yet clear," the warning said. "Until further information on the situation becomes available, the Department of Foreign Affairs advises Irish citizens against travel to the Maldives, eastern parts of Sri Lanka and the west coast of Thailand.

"The department advises people intending to travel to other tourist resorts in the region in the coming days to check with their travel operator, and if possible with the accommodation provider at their destination, before they depart."

The department has already sanctioned an initial €1m to aid relief efforts, money which will be channelled through the Red Cross. The department spokesman said decisions on further funding would be made when reports from relief agencies and NGOs were received. Several such organisations, including the Red Cross, GOAL and Unicef, have launched appeals for public donations.

Contacts

Department of Foreign Affairs hotline numbers:

01 408 2302/408 2308/408 2876

Donations to Red Cross:

Credit card on 1850 50 70 70 or www.redcross.ie, or by cheque or any bank lodgement to Bank of Ireland account number: 16305917; sort code: 900017.

Donations to GOAL:

Credit card on 01 280 9779, or by post to GOAL, PO Box 19, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Donations to UNICEF:

Credit card on 1850 76 79 99 or www.unicef.ie, or by post to UNICEF, Freepost, Great Strand Street, Dublin 1. Donations can also be made through UNICEF's AIB bank account: number 24070037; sort code 933384.