GOAL first to reach Andaman Islands

GOAL says it is the first international humanitarian agency to reach the isolated Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 people lost their lives on the archipelago but it has been impossible to help the survivors until now.

Over the past 24 hours GOAL has expanded its relief operations in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in Sri Lanka.

The agency has received almost €1m in public donations over the past week but is appealing for experienced volunteers to help their teams in Asia.

And GOAL is organising a fundraising walk leaving Howth DART station in Dublin at 2.00pm tomorrow with all proceeds going to the relief effort.

The Irish public has now donated more than €7m in total to the relief effort, almost matching €10m contribution by the government.

A week to the day after massive tidal waves devastated several countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, the number of survivors in need of food has soared to nearly 2 million.

The deathtoll continues to rise and is now approaching 130,000.

The United Nations says almost $2bn (€1.48bn) has been pledged worldwide to help the victims.