Sunday, December 26 2004 16:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: At least 1,297 people were killed and many more missing in Sri Lanka as killer tsunami waves lashed the eastern and southern coastal regions of the island today (Dec 26, 2004) following a massive quake in Indonesia leaving a trail of destruction, a top official said.

Reports of fatalities from across the affected coastal regions of the island added upto at least 1,297 dead, Lalith Weeratunga, the senior-most official in Premier Mahinda Rajapakse's office said.

Weeratunga, who is co-ordinating relief operations, said "we have police reports which place the death toll at 1,297. We don't have the full picture from some places which have been cut off."

Flash floods swept through villages which were totally unprepared, police said.

As reports of the devastation flooded in, the Lankan Government declared a "state of disaster" to deal with what is being described as the region's worst ever natural calamity in recent times.