Diplomat: Irish 'could be among tsunami dead'

A senior Irish diplomat in South East Asia has said for the first time that Irish people may have died in the tsunami disaster, it emerged tonight.

The Foreign Affairs Department estimates that 24 citizens are still unaccounted for but that poor communications were hampering the work of its officials.

But the Irish ambassador to Thailand and Malaysia, Dan Mulhall, said: “I am beginning to be resigned to the fact that we may suffer a small number of Irish deaths.

“Looking at the figures for other countries, it would be miraculous if we managed to escape with no fatalities.”

In Mr Mulhall’s consular jurisdiction, there are already 4,812 confirmed deaths in Thailand while 66 have died in Malaysia.

Mr Mulhall told RTÉ television: “But I’m not one to give up hope and for as long as there is hope, I will cling to that hope.”