Tuesday, December 28 2004 12:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: Sri Lanka's death toll went up to nearly 12,000 today (Dec 28, 2004), two days after fierce tidal waves swamped its coastline, while the number of people missing in the rebel-held north and east rose to 2,000.

The Military said that it could confirm that 10,588 people had lost their lives in areas within the Government's control after Sunday's (Dec 26, 2004) tidal wave disaster. This included 58 servicemen and 70 foreigners.

In parts of the north and east where rescue and relief efforts are being carried out by Tiger rebels, they reported some 1,372 bodies had been found while the number of civilians missing shot up to 2,000.

The new figures bring the total body count to 11,960 confirmed dead.

The State-run Rupavahini television channel quoted the head of the elite Sea Tiger unit Soosai, as saying that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had suffered heavy losses with many guerrillas among the dead.

Soosai said that at least two of the rebels' main military bases on the north east coast had been destroyed.

On its Tamilnet website, the LTTE said that the rebel-held areas of Thalayadi and Mullaitivu where they have several military bases had a high number of fatalities.

"From data collected by noon Monday (Dec 27, 2004), it is roughly estimated that 772 bodies in Mullaittivu and 600 in Thlayadi were recovered and aid workers continue to search for more bodies that would have been entangled in the debris of buildings in the vicinity," the LTTE said.