'Dead' Swede Turns Up Alive

'Dead' Swede turns up alive

STOCKHOLM: -- A Swedish man feared dead in the Indian Ocean tsunamis in December has been confirmed alive more than five months after the disaster, police said on Wednesday.

The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was travelling in Thailand at the time of the catastrophe.

"The man was reported as disappeared even before the tsunami, and his family feared that he may have died in the tsunami. But Thai authorities have now confirmed that he is alive," police spokesperson Linda Widmark said.

The man has not contacted his family or authorities himself, but he renewed his travel visa and Thai authorities were therefore able to confirm his identity and well-being, she said.

A total of 448 Swedes have been confirmed dead after the December 26 tsunami, spawned by a massive earthquake off Indonesia, struck countries around the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 217 000 people.

The total number of Swedes killed or missing has dropped by one to 543 now that the man in Thailand has been located.

As many as 20 000 Swedes were vacationing in the area, mainly in Khao Lak in Thailand, at the time, and the number of the Scandinavian country's nationals missing was initially feared to be as high as 3 500.

Sweden with its nine million inhabitants remains one of the countries outside of Asia with the highest per capita death toll.

--AFP 2005-06-02