The tsunami death toll in Malaysia has risen to 66 as of midnight
Wednesday, a spokesman of the Malaysian Control Center in the federal police
headquarters said Thursday morning.
The spokesman said in a press release that the latest body, identified as
that of a man named Yeoh Guan Poh, was found Wednesday evening at Telok Bahang
beach in Penang State.
The recovery brought the total death toll in Penang to 52 whilethe number in
three other states remained unchanged -- 10 in Kedah,three in Perak and one in
Selangor, according to the spokesman.
At least nine people were still missing -- five in Penang, three in Kedah and
one in Perak.
The number of people injured was put at 183 -- 108 in Penang, 72 in Kedah and
three others in Perak.
The search and rescue operations would be resumed in Thursday morning, he
added.
The tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean near
Indonesian island of Sumatra last Sunday, struck several states on the country's
west coast and Penang and Kedah states were the worst hit.
Some 5,000 coastal residents have been evacuated in disaster-stricken states
of Kedah and Penang.
Meanwhile, most of public celebrations to usher in 2005 have been canceled or
postponed following a call by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that prayers
be conducted instead.
Two New Year's eve concerts scheduled to be held here have beendeferred to
show respect for victims of the killer tsunami.
