Confirmed death toll from Thai tidal waves is 4,351
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-31 11:31

The confirmed death toll from tidal waves in Thailand is now 4,351, a provincial governor says.

Anuwat Maytheevibulwut, governor of the worst-hit province of Phang Nga, said the figure for deaths in his province alone as of Thursday night was 3,530.

"Of those 3,530 I estimate that 30 percent were foreigners," he told AFP.

Interior ministry figures from Thursday night showed a total of 821 confirmed dead in five other provinces on the Andaman Sea which were battered by huge waves last Sunday.

The ministry said 6,121 were missing. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thursday that 80 percent of the missing are presumed dead.

The governor said the latest figure for his province, which includes the devastated resort town of Khao Lak, was compiled after checks at temples and hospitals, where some bodies have been collected.

He said all the deaths so far had occurred in the Khao Lak area and rescuers were Friday expected to retrieve 300 more corpses on land.

"We will try to complete the task today on land but I have no idea how many would be floating in the sea," Anuwat said.

The interior ministry listed 2,376 missing in Phang Nga as of Thursday night but the governor said it was very hard to arrive at an exact figure.

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