At least 11 Italians were killed in the devastating tsunami caused by Sunday's powerful earthquake in Southeast Asia, the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

"The situation is much worse than originally believed and continues to get worse with every passing moment. At least nine Italians were killed on the Thai resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi while two died in Sri Lanka." the statement said.

"There are great difficulties in identifying victims and notifying their families. Many Italians are still missing and dozens have been hospitalized," the statement said.

"We are trying to bring the injured home first and those who are already at airports. Units from our civil protection department are already on the scene," the statement said.