Germans top current foreign death toll
The number of Germans confirmed killed in the tsunami disaster a week ago has nearly doubled to 60 – the highest death toll among foreigners – and is expected to rise much further, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said today.
Fourteen of the Germans identified were killed in Sri Lanka, while 46 died in Thailand, said deputy foreign minister Klaus Scharioth. The ministry had reported 34 identified German victims on Saturday.
The number of Germans reported missing has been going up daily, and now “lies very clearly over 1,000”, leaving little room for optimism, he said.
“From day to day the possibility increases that many of these missing will never return,” Scharioth said.
Some 300 Germans were injured in the earthquake and tsunamis, and some 7,000 have returned home from the region, Scharioth said.
The announcement of the revised death toll means that more Germans have been confirmed dead than nationals of any other country outside the disaster zone. The Swedish government has so far confirmed 59 deaths among its citizens, while the total for Britain stands at 40.
A German air force medical evacuation plane brought home 40 wounded from Thailand earlier today – 39 Germans and one Swiss. Six people with serious injuries were taken to hospitals for further treatment.
Germany is working to set up a field hospital on the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the Aceh province, the epicentre of the tsunami disaster. It is expected to be ready to receive patients by the end of the week, Scharioth said.
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer plans on visiting the region at the end of the week to get a first hand idea of what help is needed.
Some 95 Swiss people still missing after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster were almost certainly dead, the country’s Foreign Ministry said today.
Although the number of Swiss victims who have been identified is 16, the 95 others disappeared under circumstances that leave no hope of finding them alive, said Foreign Ministry official Peter Sutter.
The likely toll of 111 was almost certain to increase further, Sutter said.
The number of Swiss still missing in the area stood at 500, down from 550 on Saturday. Most had been on holiday in Thailand and Sri Lanka.
