Thousands Missing From Thai Town

[Darknight]

Thousands missing from Thai town

From BBC News

Elephants have been called in to help clear debris in Thailand

In one of the towns worst hit by the Asian tsunami, away from the main tourist beaches, thousands of Thais are still missing, police say.

Police in Baan Nam Khem said up to 3,000 people - more than half the town's population - were feared dead.

The Thai prime minister visited tourist areas on Sunday, and promised to take action on a tsunami warning system.

Religious services were held across the country for the thousands killed exactly a week before.

The Thai interior ministry said 4,985 people were confirmed dead, including 2,457 foreigners, 2,252 Thais and 276 whose background was unknown.

Me and my husband are safe because last Sunday we were here in the church in the morning

Tourist Jala Shasachoza

The figure for those listed as missing was reduced from 6,424 to 3,810.

Thailand's former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said the damage to Baan Nam Khem, a town of about 5,000 people, was the worst he had seen anywhere in the country.

Fishing boats up to 25m (82 feet) long were strewn among the smashed debris of the devastated town.

"We don't know how many are dead but we think about 3,000 are missing and we think most of those will be dead," police Captain Chanarong Pungantatmongkol told the French news agency AFP.

"It is hard to know the true number because there were many people here illegally from Burma."

Thais 'under strain'

Some Thais have complained that towns like Baan Nam Khem have been ignored, while the international relief effort has focused on foreign tourists.

They say that foreigners were put up in an international school with beds and internet connections, while Thais were left to sleep outside.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra responded to the criticism, saying: "Obviously we have to look after the foreigners but our priority now will be to help Thais find shelter.

"They are under a lot of stress and strain, sleeping in temporary shelters."

However he also vowed to help rehabilitate tourism, one of Thailand's biggest money earners.

Elephants deployed

On a visit to the ravaged shores of Phuket island, Mr Thaksin said he would ask for help in setting up tsunami warning systems when US Secretary of State Colin Powell visits on Tuesday.

Visitors and locals around Phuket island attended special church services held on Sunday.

"Me and my husband are safe because last Sunday we were here in the church in the morning," said Jala Shasachoza of the Czech Republic.

"If we didn't come there, we would be on the beach. That's why we can say the church saved our lives, maybe."

Meanwhile the clean-up effort continued, with elephants being deployed in some areas to help clear the debris.