Tidal waves kill up to 700 in southern Thailand

Rescue teams converged on beaches and remote islands in search of the missing today as the Thai prime minister said up to 700 people perished when earthquake-spawned tidal waves devastated idyllic resort areas of southern Thailand.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said between 600 and 700 persons had died when the waves and flooding struck the international resort island of Phuket and the surrounding region.