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U.S. tracks 4,000 reports of missing Americans
State Department checking thousands of calls
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials are investigating about 4,000 reports of missing Americans in the wake of the December 26 tsunami disaster, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday.
"What we're trying to do is work systematically through all the calls we've received," spokesman Adam Ereli said. "Not every call represents an individual."
The Indian Ocean tsunamis killed more than 150,000 people in at least 11 countries. (Full story)
Ereli said 16 Americans have been confirmed dead -- eight in Sri Lanka and eight in Thailand.
More than 20,000 calls have poured into U.S. embassies and government hot lines since the tsunamis hit -- most from frantic friends and family members who thought someone they knew may have been in the affected areas.
Sometimes more than one relative or friend called about the same person, creating duplicate records.
Often, those friends or family members did not call back when the person they reported missing was found, State Department officials said.
Some callers were unclear on geography as well, reporting missing Americans in China, South Africa and even Vermont.
Officials said that the State Department checks into every report.
"Yesterday we started with 5,000," Ereli said. "We've been able to whittle it down."
Ereli said that officials soon would be able to be more specific about the number of missing Americans in the region.
The search for Americans focused largely on Thailand and Sri Lanka, a senior State Department official said.
The official said that Americans were unlikely to have been in Indonesia's Aceh province because of the long-standing armed rebellion there.
The State Department also has sent out consular affairs officers to the coastal resort city of Phuket, Thailand, where they are working with local officials to identify the needs of Americans -- whether it be treatment for injury or transportation and money.
Those officers also are working to identify Americans who may be hospitalized or in morgues.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/04/tsunami.americans/index.html
State Department checking thousands of calls
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials are investigating about 4,000 reports of missing Americans in the wake of the December 26 tsunami disaster, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday.
"What we're trying to do is work systematically through all the calls we've received," spokesman Adam Ereli said. "Not every call represents an individual."
The Indian Ocean tsunamis killed more than 150,000 people in at least 11 countries. (Full story)
Ereli said 16 Americans have been confirmed dead -- eight in Sri Lanka and eight in Thailand.
More than 20,000 calls have poured into U.S. embassies and government hot lines since the tsunamis hit -- most from frantic friends and family members who thought someone they knew may have been in the affected areas.
Sometimes more than one relative or friend called about the same person, creating duplicate records.
Often, those friends or family members did not call back when the person they reported missing was found, State Department officials said.
Some callers were unclear on geography as well, reporting missing Americans in China, South Africa and even Vermont.
Officials said that the State Department checks into every report.
"Yesterday we started with 5,000," Ereli said. "We've been able to whittle it down."
Ereli said that officials soon would be able to be more specific about the number of missing Americans in the region.
The search for Americans focused largely on Thailand and Sri Lanka, a senior State Department official said.
The official said that Americans were unlikely to have been in Indonesia's Aceh province because of the long-standing armed rebellion there.
The State Department also has sent out consular affairs officers to the coastal resort city of Phuket, Thailand, where they are working with local officials to identify the needs of Americans -- whether it be treatment for injury or transportation and money.
Those officers also are working to identify Americans who may be hospitalized or in morgues.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/04/tsunami.americans/index.html
