/ 11 January 2005

106 South Africans still unaccounted for

A total of 106 South Africans remained unaccounted for on Tuesday following the December 26 Asian tsunami, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in Pretoria.

The figure dropped from more than 300 at the weekend as people who had been in the area at the time of the disaster alerted the department that they are unharmed.

The number of people missing, presumed dead, remains at five, a spokesperson at the department’s operations centre said.

A sixth turned out to be alive but injured when he phoned his brother on Friday evening.

Ten South Africans are confirmed to have died in Thailand.

The 10th fatality was confirmed last Thursday when family members identified a victim at a morgue. — Sapa