Eleven British tourists have been confirmed dead and thousands more are stranded in the Asian tidal wave disaster, a spokesman of the Foreign Office said on Monday.

Of the 11 British victims, eight died in Thailand, two in the Maldives and one in Sri Lanka, the spokesman said, noting that thenumber of British victims is likely to rise.

It is believed hundreds of Britons have been injured, with morethan 60 British names on lists issued by Thai hospitals, the SkyNews reported.

The British victims are among the more than 23,000 victims reported dead after the tsunamis caused by a huge earthquake off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra swept on Sundayacross southeast Asia.

The Association of British Travel Agents estimated that around 10,000 British holidaymakers are in the region during this peak tourism season.

Five flights are scheduled to bring people back to London from Sri Lanka between Monday and Wednesday, with emergency programs launched by local tour operators.

The Department for International Development said an aid flightwith plastic sheeting and tenting requested by the Sri Lankan government would leave Gatwick airport on Monday evening.

The foreign office has advised against traveling to the Maldives and to the affected parts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh.