Three Estonians believed dead as a result of tsunami

  • 2004-12-22
  • By The Baltic Times
TALLINN, RIGA 's Three Estonians are believed dead, and three Latvians still missing, after the tidal wave that devastated the coastal areas of several southeastern Asian countries.

On Tuesday the Estonian Foreign Ministry still had no information about three Estonian tourists in Thailand.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the whereabouts of three Latvian residents who had been in the area had yet to be contacted.

The total number of Estonians in the tsunami-affected area was 327, while the number of Latvian residents was 228.

An official with the Estonian ministry said that all the Estonians other than the three missing had returned home and that relatives and friends of the missing had expressed the wish to fly to the disaster area themselves in order to find them.

All Lithuanians who had been vacationing in the area were contacted and discovered to be in good health.

In the meantime, Baltic governments and citizens have been donating money to fund the relief efforts and help the survivors, mainly through local Red Cross branches.

Latvia will hold a minute of silence for earthquake victims and Estonia three minutes on Wednesday, according to various reports.