Pravda Ru

Russians go to Thailand despite the earthquake

12/28/2004 11:32

The majority of the killed foreign tourists were staying in a popular resort
in Phuket Island

The number of victims of the monstrous earthquake and tsunamis that rocked
the coasts of Southeast Asia and Africa is still growing. News agencies
report that tidal waters and quakes have killed approximately 25 thousand
people. The figure is most likely not final. Nothing is known about the
number of victims in the countries of East Africa. Red Cross specialists
believe that over a million people in total (it goes about the wounded and
the killed) have suffered as a result of the natural disaster.

The quake epicenter in the Indian Ocean measured 8.7-8.9 on the Richter
scale. Specialists say that the latest earthquake in Asia was one of the
strongest Earth shocks over the recent 100 years. Another powerful
earthquake of the past, which leveled several towns in Armenia in 1988, was
measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, which could be a comparison to picture
the scale of the catastrophe.

Tsunamis and earthquakes have caused the most considerable damage to Sri
Lanka, where over 11,500 people were killed. The civil war in the country
exacerbates the situation even more, for it is hard to render necessary help
to the victims of the quake because of the war.

The following number of victims is reported in the below-listed countries:
India – 6279
Indonesia – 4912
Malaysia – 44
Myanmar – 36
Thailand – 839 were killed and, 5000 were wounded
The Maldives – 32
Somalia – 9
Bangladesh – 2

The disaster has caused damage not only to local citizens, but to numerous
foreign tourists, who were spending their vacations in the region,
especially in Thailand. Spokespeople for Thai authorities say that the
majority of the killed foreign tourists were staying in a popular resort on
Phuket Island. There were Russian tourists among the holiday-makers too.
Eight Russian citizens were slightly wounded in the disaster, previous
reports said. Four other tourists from Russia are missing. The catastrophe
has caused chaos in the countries of the quake-damaged region, which makes
it very hard to obtain the precise information. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said the number of Russian tourists in Thailand totaled 1,500.

Russian Emergency Ministry sent two Il-76 planes of humanitarian aid to Sri
Lanka. Official spokespeople for the Russian Foreign Ministry in their turn
recommended Russian citizens to cancel their trips to the countries of
Southeast Asia on account of new possible earthquakes. The majority of
Russian tourists, who planned to visit Thailand and other countries of the
region for New Year celebrations, have already turned down their plans.
There are some people, however, who are still determined to visit Southeast
Asia for the holidays despite the monstrous earthquake.

Read the original in Russian:
(Translated by:
Dmitry Sudakov)