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Norwegians among tidal wave victims
28/12/2004 1:11

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen sent his condolences to his counterparts around South Asia and NOK 10 million (1.5 million euros) was immediately set aside to help humanitarian work in Sri Lanka, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"It is with deep sorrow that we have received the news of the loss of thousands of lives and heavy damage that the tidal wave inSouth Asia has caused," Petersen said.

He said the foreign ministry also had set up a crisis team to get an overview of the situation and send aid to Norwegians hit bythe catastrophe.

More than 3,000 Norwegians are believed to have been on holidayin Thailand or visiting other parts of Asia when Sunday's killer tidal wave battered countries around the Indian Ocean.

Ten were reported dead on Monday morning. Eight of those who died were in Thailand, while the other two were killed in Sri Lanka, according to officials at Norway's Foreign Ministry.

Hilde Frafjord Johnson, the cabinet minister in charge of foreign aid, said further assistance will be evaluated when needs become more clear. She said her staff was in contact with the United Nations to coordinate humanitarian aid.

Travel insurance firm Europeiske Reiseforsikring sent a medicalteam to Phuket, Thailand, Sunday evening, including a crisis psychologist, to aid tourists.

"We view the situation as chaotic, and still don't know how many Norwegian tourists there are covered by us," said Ivar Leren of the travel insurance firm. "We have therefore chosen to offer first aid at the site, before we can start bringing the injured home."

The Norwegian Seaman's Church in Bangkok also was sending personnel to Phuket to aid Norwegian travelers.

Foreign ministry officials were warning against traveling to the area. Tour operators in Norway were meeting Monday to decide what they should do with all their scheduled departures.



 Xinhua