Hundreds of Japanese yet to be verified safe
Japan Times
BANGKOK (Kyodo) Rescue workers and Japanese diplomats said Tuesday that information and evidence suggest more than 30 Japanese citizens may have been swept away in southern Thailand by the tsunamis generated by the magnitude 9 earthquake off Indonesia on Dec. 26.
The Foreign Ministry has received inquiries on some 3,200 people who were unaccounted for in South Asia, but said about 2,500 of them had been confirmed safe as of Monday.
In Thailand alone, the number of unaccounted for Japanese came to some 180 as of Tuesday, according to sources engaged in rescue work.
The rescue workers and diplomats said they are working to confirm information gleaned from witnesses, passports and other belongings that are apparently of those still missing.
