Wednesday, December 29 2004 10:17 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Colombo: Rescue workers reported another 3,009 deaths from earthquake-triggered tidal waves, taking Sri Lanka's toll to 21,715 today (Dec 29, 2004), an official said.

Nimal Wanigasuriya, an officer of the state-run National Disaster Management Centre, said 8,600 people have also been injured in the island nation and nearly a million people have fled their homes and sought refuge in hundreds of welfare centres across the country.

Several thousands are still missing, many of them believed to be cut off from their relatives because of a communications breakdown. Government and independent media institutions have appealed to the public to help locate the missing.

More than 55,000 people have been killed across South and South East Asia following a massive earthquake close to Indonesia on Sunday (Dec 26, 2004) that triggered devastating tsunamis.