MFAT Tsunami Update 7 At 2230 On Wednesday 29 December

1 An RNZAF 757 Aircraft will depart from Whenuapai Airbase for Phuket tomorrow afternoon. On board the aircraft will be a 10-member Disaster Victim Identification Team, comprising eight Police personnel, a dentist and a pathologist. Also on board will be an Emergency Response Team comprising officials from Police, NZ Defence Force, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This team will strengthen the team of Police and NZ Embassy officials already working in Phuket.

2 NZ officials in Thailand have just over 600 entries on their database. Of these, 250 are confirmed OK, one is confirmed deceased and 17 are in hospitals in Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi. Two New Zealand medical personnel, a nurse and a paramedic, are visiting the injured New Zealanders to check on their condition. Of the around 340 people unaccounted for, there appears to be around 116 New Zealanders missing in the affected areas.

3 In order to account for people registered on our databases, we continue to encourage New Zealanders to advise us if they have heard from their friends and relatives in the affected areas.

4 Last evening, enquiries had been made through the Red Cross and MFAT call centres concerning just over over 2000 New Zealanders. Of these around 850 have been accounted for. Many further calls are being processed - some of these are likely to relate to additional names, while others will relate to previous enquries.

5 Separate updated travel information has been sent to media and has been posted on the MFAT website.

6 Initial information to hand suggests that no New Zealanders were on the fatality list in the Maldives.

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