Straw: 440 British dead or missing in Asian tsunami

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in Phuket Friday 440 British died or were missing after the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean earthquake-tsunami disaster.

The British Foreign Secretary told a press conference after visiting the tsunami-hit area here that 49 Britons died and 391 others were missing in the killer tsunami.

Straw toured the Phuket island, which was a region hardest hit by the tsunami in Thailand, and met with British victims of the tragedy at the Phuket International Hospital.

The British Foreign Secretary arrived here after attending an emergency meeting on aftermath of earthquake and tsunami in Jakarta on Thursday. He has met with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other Thai officials to discuss joint relief efforts.

Source: Xinhua