Relatives pray for thousands still missing

INDIANS scattered flower petals at sea and sacrificed chickens yesterday to pray for the safe return of those carried away in a tsunami as aftershocks hit some areas.

Groups gathered on beaches in southern India as dawn broke to light incense and pray for thousands of missing.

But while some held on to fading hope, others broke down as they discovered loved ones among the loads of dead ferried to hastily erected open-air morgues and authorities gouged out mass graves to bury bodies already rotting in the tropical heat.