December 27, 2004
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By DILIP GANGULY, Associated Press Writer
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Rescuers piled up bodies along coastlines devastated by a tsunami that obliterated seaside towns in Asia and Africa, killing 21,000 people in nine countries. Hundreds of children were buried in mass graves in India, and morgues and hospitals struggled Monday to cope with the catastrophe.
The death toll rose sharply a day after the magnitude 9 quake struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia.
Walls of water sped away from the epicenter at more than 500 mph before crashing into the region's shorelines, sweeping people and fishing villages out to sea. Millions were displaced from their homes and thousands remained missing Monday.
Officials said the death toll would continue to rise, and the international Red Cross said it was concerned about waterborne diseases.
Sri Lanka said more than 10,000 people were killed along its coastlines, and Tamil rebels said 2,000 people died in its territory, raising that country's toll to more than 12,000.
Indonesia reported about 5,000 deaths and India 3,000. Thailand — a Western tourist hotspot — said hundreds of people were dead and thousands more were missing. Deaths also were reported in Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Somalia, 3,000 miles away in Africa.
On the remote Car Nicobar island, Police Chief S.B. Deol said another 3,000 people may have died. If confirmed, that would raise India's death toll to 6,000 and the overall number to 23,900.
An Indian man cries as he holds the hand of his eight-year-old son killed in a tsunami in Cuddalore.
In Bandah Aceh, Indonesia, 150 miles from the quake's epicenter, dozens of bloated bodies littered the streets as soldiers and desperate relatives searched for survivors Monday. Some 500 bodies collected by emergency workers lay under plastic tents, rotting in the tropical heat.
The Indian state of Tamil Nadu reported thousands of deaths.
Nearby beaches resembled open-air mortuaries as fishermen's bodies washed ashore, and retreating waters left behind others killed inland. In Cuddalore, red-eyed parents buried more than 150 children laid in a mass grave that a bulldozer filled with sodden earth.
Sri Lanka and Indonesia said at least 1 million people were driven from their homes in each country.
Dozens of bodies still clad in swimming trunks lined beaches in Thailand.
Because tsunamis are rare in the Indian Ocean, no warning system exists there.
Comments (2)
what a nice way to end 2004. my condolences.
i really hope 2005 will be a better year for all of us.
was wondering a bit more about the details, ouch.
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