600 Swedes unaccounted for

At least 23 people from the Nordic countries were killed and hundreds more missing after deadly earthquake-driven tidal waves swept southern Asia.

The region, with its sun and white-sand beaches, is a magnet for northern Europeans seeking to escape Scandinavia’s frigid winters.

A spokeswoman for the Swedish tour operator Fritidsresor said some 600 Swedes on holiday in Khao Lak just north of Phuket have not been accounted for.

More than 20,000 Swedes are believed to be in the region.

Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said: “The number of deaths are already unbelievably high. They will continue to rise.”