Some 2,000 tourists, who had been trapped in the disaster-hit areas in Sri Lanka, have been evacuated to the capital city of Colombo so far, local media reported Wednesday.
The Daily News newspaper quoted sources from the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) as saying that the authority has been trying to send the foreign tourists home.
Those evacuated are taking shelter at hotels in Colombo and the SLTB had to assist some with their travel documents, which might have been lost during the evacuation, said the newspaper.
So far 200 foreign tourists from different destinations have left the island nation, while 73 foreign tourists have been confirmed dead so far, the SLTB was quoted as saying.
A shuttle service was launched Tuesday by the tourism board between Colombo and the affected coastal areas of Galle, Hikkaduwa and Bentota for the rescue mission.
A large number of tourists are reported missing or injured in Sri Lanka in the tidal wave disaster, triggered by Sunday's earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale in Indonesia. The devastating aftermath also battered several other coastal nations across Asia.