South Africa Tuesday received two urgent requests from Sri Lanka and Maldives authorities for relief assistance following Asia's devastating tsunamis which killed over 50,000 people.
However, foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa did not specify the requests, saying that their foreign affairs officials have been working around the clock to answer queries from South Africans concerned about family members in the disaster area.
He said since Sunday, Dec. 26, the operation center has handled over 1,000 inquiring about 2,034 South Africans in countries affected by both the earthquake and the tidal waves.
In Thailand's resort island Phuket, four South Africans are reported dead and a South African family of ten is reported missing. Twenty South Africans are also reported missing in India.
From Wednesday, the department of home affairs will set up an office at the Johannesburg International Airport. It will help return South Africans who may have lost their identity documents and passports.