Thursday, December 30 2004 10:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The US has said that the core group it formed with India, Australia and Japan to coordinate worldwide efforts to provide relief to victims of Sunday's (Dec 26, 2004) earthquake and tsunamis would 'grow' further with more nations and organisations joining it.

"We hope this core group will grow, because there are more people who have more capabilities and we hope will provide more capacity," US Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman told reporters here yesterday.

"There is going to be a gigantic international requirement. So our expectation is that the European Union, the United Nations and other countries will also join in this," he said.

"Although we make a substantial contribution, more than anyone else in these emergencies, this is certainly not for us to do alone. It is going to take a worldwide effort. And we would expect and we would hope and I believe that the world will respond."

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Grossman said that he has already been in touch with the UN so that there could be coordination in the international efforts to face the disaster.

Earlier US President George W Bush, at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, had announced the formation of the international coalition.