20 Spaniards missing after Hurricane Katrina

The Spanish Foreign Ministry today said the number of Spaniards missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina had risen to 20.

The ministry said Spanish officials were in close contact with Spanish consulates in the United States to track down the missing Spaniards, mainly in the city of New Orleans, a spokesman said.

The ministry had said earlier that only six Spaniards were reported missing. The spokesman added that the list was not definitive and it varied constantly.

Two other Spanish families and a 22-year-old woman arrived in Spain this week after being evacuated from New Orleans.

Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last week, displacing hundreds of thousands residents. Officials have said they expect the number of dead to be in the thousands.