|
43 Chinese missing in Phuket after tsunami
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-12-29 13:41 Forty-three Chinese tourists remained missing in
tsunami-hit Thailand' Phuket, an official of the Chinese Embassy to Thailand
said on Wednesday.
Among the 43 missing tourists, five are from the Chinese mainland, 30 from
China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and eight from China's Taiwan
Province, Pan Guangxue, a counselor of the embassy, told Xinhua at the relief
center in Phuket.
The 107 Beijing
tourists stranded in Phuket, Thailand, after the tsunami returned home
safely Wednesday morning by an Air China chartered plane.
[newsphoto]
Two tourists, among
107 Beijing tourists stranded in Phuket, Thailand, recount the terrible
story upon their arrival home December 29, 2004 by an Air China chartered
plane. [newsphoto] | He said the Chinese Embassy
is trying its best to search for them, and all the injured mainland tourists
have been sent back to China for medical treatment.
So far, 486 mainland tourists have left Phuket for home and the rest will go
back soon, he said.
More than 63,000 people were confirmed or presumed killed in Sunday's
tsunamis triggered by a strong earthquake in the Indian Ocean.
According to China's Seismological Bureau, the earthquake, with a magnitude
of 8.7 on the Ritcher scale, occurred at 06:58 a.m. local time (0058 GMT) Sunday
off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Identity
of HK citizen killed in tsunami confirmed
A spokesman for the
Hong Kong government said Wednesday that the identity of a Hong Kong man who
died in tsunami in Phuket, Thailand, has been confirmed.
According to the spokesman, the deceased was identified as Mr. Leung, 39, who
held a Hong Kong identity card and a British passport.
Hong Kong Immigration Officers in Phuket Tuesday evening received report from
a lady of foreign nationality that her husband was killed in the tsunami attack.
The lady informed immigration officers that she had identified the corpse of
her husband and had informed the British Embassy in Thailand about her husband's
death. Immigration officers at Phuketare keeping close contact with the lady and
will provide necessary assistance to her.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa Tuesday called for efforts to assist
Hong Kong residents affected by the tsunamis in Sumatra, Indonesia and other
places.
According to Hong Kong Chief Secretary Donald Tsang, 64 Hong Kong people had
returned to Hong Kong from tsunami-hit areas by Tuesday afternoon, while another
200-odd could not be contacted yet.
More Hong Kong immigration officers will be sent to Thailand to provide
assistance to and facilitate the safe return of Hong Kong
people.
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
Today's
Top News |
|
|
|
Top China
News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
