About 100 Thais who lost their relatives in the Dec. 26 tidal waves held a protest Monday as leaders of Sweden, Norway and Finland visited the region to inspect the ongoing body identification and relief effort.

Outside a town hall in Phangnga's Takua Pa district, where meeting between Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the three leaders were held, demonstrators criticized Thai government's plan to move some 3,000 unidentified bodies from the area to a one-stop victim identification center in Phuket.

It was the second protest in two days. A similar demonstration was staged on Sunday to voice against the transfer of unidentifiedbodies.

At least 5,322 people have been killed in the Dec. 26 tsunami, nearly half of whom were foreigners.

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik of Norway urged Thai government to continue to search for dead bodies as long as there is still hope.

Sweden Prime Minister Goeran Persson hoped that the body identification process to be completed fast and efficiently.

The leaders also met international forensic investigators, police and others who helped with body identification and relief work.

On Sunday, the Nordic leaders met with Thaksin and received a royal audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

They thanked Thailand for the assistance it offered to their nationals after the tsunami.

Thailand is a popular vacation destination among tourists from Nordic countries. Nearly 30,000 people from the region were estimated to have been in the areas lashed by the tsunami.