The worst tsunami hitting Sri Lanka Sunday has killed 200 foreign tourists, including at least eight Japanese, 8 Indian and 2 German, the official sources said on Monday.

The sources said most of them had died in the island's eastern part.

Early today, an official from the Sri Lanka Tourist Board said "We airlifted them yesterday and we are taking fingerprints at the moment."

But he added officials were hampered in their rescue efforts by damaged communication lines.

The tsunami caused by the fourth greatest earthquake in history in Indonesia triggered floods that killed more than 10,000 people and forced million to abandon their homes in the country.