Tsunami death toll nears 300,000

THE number of people known to be dead or missing following the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami neared 300,000 yesterday after Indonesia revised its casualty figures.

The country’s health ministry said 228,164 people were now believed dead or missing, an increase of more than 50,000 on earlier figures.

The United Nations yesterday said warnings about the threat of infectious diseases after the tsunami helped prevent a major outbreak of cholera or dysentery in the region.