The Hindu : Front Page : ``Many of those missing could be dead''

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 10, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

``Many of those missing could be dead''

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 9. Miraculous survival stories have kept hopes alive in India and the Government has till date not called off its search for the thousands missing after the tsunami lashed the country's south-eastern coast a fortnight ago.

But, for the first time today, the Government announced that it apprehends that many of the more than 5,000 missing — most of them from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — may not have survived.

Briefing mediapersons after the all-party meeting at the Prime Minister's residence, the Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said 5,531 of the 5,624 missing as of noon on Saturday were from the Islands.

"We apprehend that a large number of these may be dead."

Should this fear become a reality, the death toll will undoubtedly touch the 15,000 mark.

The latest official figure of total deaths in the country stood at 10,022 — up 10 over the last 24 hours.

The additions were all reported from Tamil Nadu, with the State now accounting for 7,951 deaths.

Of the 5,617 missing, 5,531 are from the islands, 75 from Pondicherry and 11 from Andhra Pradesh.

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