Sunday, December 26 2004 13:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: At least 214 people were killed after tidal waves caused by a massive earthquake off northern Indonesia pounded more than half of Sri Lanka's coastline today (Dec 26, 2004), destroying villages and tourist resorts, officials said.

Parts of the capital Colombo were also flooded, shortly after residents felt tremors early today, police said.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse urged India to provide urgent medical assistance to his country and help with helicopters in the rescue mission.

The Prime Minister, speaking to reporters, also said he does not know about the exact number of casualties, but officials said that at least 214 people have died. At least 200 people were reported dead in the Muslim village of Muttur in the island's east while another 14 in the town of Trincomalee which was submerged in several feet of sea water. Hundreds more were also reportedly missing.

Huge waves began pounding Sri Lankan's eastern coastal belt early today after an earthquake rocked the Indian Ocean close to Sumatra, Indonesia, a spokesman for the Meteorological Department said.

"We think the casualties could go up," M D Rodrgo, a local rescue official in Muttur, said adding the floods were receding but were leaving a huge amount of destruction behind.

Tourist resorts along the coast were badly hit with almost all of them going under water. Police reported a large number of people, including fishermen and tourists, missing.

In the main Colombo harbour, at least one ship was listing after huge waves hit, a spokesman for the port said, adding they had declared an emergency.

The tsunami tidal waves had lost some strength as they reached the capital, but several low lying areas of Colombo went under sea water, police said.

A police official in Matara, 160 kilometres south of Colombo, said he feared that many could have lost their lives, but was unable to give an official body count yet.

"There are many people who have seen bodies floating in the water," the officer said by telephone. "The water level is going down, but we have a huge problem of water as sea water has got into the supply of drinking water."

Hundreds of villages along the island's eastern and southern coast as well as towns along the southern coast were battered with many houses completely smashed, police said.

According to early reports from the coastal areas, the tsunami had washed over an area of more than 800 kilometres from Trincomalee in the island's east to the capital Colombo Kalutara in the west.