French State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Renaud Muselier announced Monday that at least six French nationals were killed and 16 others missing since Sunday in Asia.

The French minister said in a statement that four French dead were found in Thailand, one in India and the other in Sri Lanka, adding that the rescuer teams are continuing the search of the 16 missing persons.

The minister confirmed earlier in the day that all is being done in order to give news about the stricken Asian sites where some 5,000 French tourists are on vacation and emergency measures are being taken by the French embassies and consulates in the region.

A free hotline has been opened by the French foreign ministry for relatives of the French tourists still staying in the strickenregion to contact the emergency service set up at site.

An earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.7 according to the China Earthquake Administration, hit at 6:58 am (0058 GMT) Sunday off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Tsunamis triggered by a series of huge undersea earthquakes near the Indonesian island of Sumatra swept across the coastal countries of the Indian Ocean rim Sunday, destroying villages, flooding cities and killing over 23,700 people.