The Sri Lankan government said Tuesday that a large number of foreigners have applied to adopt children orphaned by the Dec. 26 Tsunami attacks.

Sarath Abeygunawardena, director of Probation and Child Care Services Department, said the department had received over 1,000 applications for legal adoption of children and the procedure may span over a period of two years.

The Sri Lankan government has outlawed haphazard adoption of orphaned children.

According to the UNICEF, nearly 1,000 children in Sri Lanka have lost both mother and father while over 3,000 lost one parent.

More than 38,000 people were killed and another 800,000 displaced in the Tsunami disaster in the southern and northeast coastal areas of the country.