Wednesday, December 29 2004 11:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The aborigines in Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Ongi, Sentinel and Jarwa tribes - are safe, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said last night (Dec 28, 2004).

While the Ongi people escaped the Tsunami disaster as they are located at slightly higher places, the islands inhabiting Sentinel and Jarwas have not been affected by the tidal waves, Mukherjee, who visited the Islands along with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, told reporters in New Delhi.

Describing reports about the casualties suffered in the Islands as highly exaggerated, Mukherjee said that a joint secretary in the Home Ministry has been asked to camp there to oversee relief and rehabilitation operations.

He also said that no date has been firmed up for the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the disaster zones.