The German death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami has risen to 60 with over 1,000 people still missing, the government said on Sunday.

Klaus Scharioth, state secretary in the Foreign Ministry, said 46 German nationals were killed in Thailand and 14 in Sri Lanka.

More than 6,000 German holiday makers have now returned home from the disaster region following Sunday's earthquake and tidal waves.

Scharioth said it was proving difficult to identify the dead. For most victims, identification is now only possible using DNA analysis and dental records, he said.

The official also said hopes were fading to find the missing alive. "The possibility that the missing will not return is growing with each day that passes," he said.

Last Sunday, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered tidal waves that crashed onto the shores of coastal Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Maldives and Bangladesh, wiping off villages and towns.

The total death toll is rising to about 150,000.