300 NZers unaccounted for in Thailand alone

More than 300 New Zealanders are still unaccounted for in tsunami-hit Thailand.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said today the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had growing concerns about the safety of those people three days after the disaster.

"I've got to say, we're a little bit more pessimistic today than we might have been yesterday with those figures unaccounted for in the affected areas," he said on National Radio this morning.

He said the latest information from Bangkok showed there were 490 New Zealanders on the database.

Eleven of those were in hospital, including six in Phuket and five in Bangkok.

While some of those injuries may be serious, none were believed to be life-threatening.

Mr Goff said 113 New Zealanders were unaccounted for in the worst-hit Phuket area, another 192 unaccounted for were likely to be in other parts of Thailand, and 172 were confirmed safe and well with some currently returning to New Zealand.

Some of those who were returning home were severely traumatised, Mr Goff said.

"Support from within New Zealand will have to be provided for those people when they get back here."

Meanwhile, staff on the ground in and around Phuket would continue to check morgues and hospitals, and work with local police to assist those identified as New Zealanders to get out.

There were over 230 unidentified non-Thai casualties in the Phuket area, which was the main concern to New Zealand.

"The conditions become harder, bodies are being recovered that have now been dead for a couple of days, they are scattered over a wide range of resorts, so the work on the ground is very difficult indeed."

Mr Goff said the overall picture would become clearer in a couple of days and the main priority would be tracking down those who had not made contact with family or authorities.

Consulate staff from all countries affected were doing the same.

Meanwhile, an air force Hercules flew from Whenuapai airbase in Auckland, landing in Darwin late last night and was expected to continue to northwest Indonesia today.

The aircraft would transport humanitarian relief supplies to affected areas.

Defence Force spokeswoman Commander Sandy McKie this morning told NZPA the plans were still loose, but two separate crews were likely to operate around the clock in shifts.

The New Zealand crews would work alongside Australian defence crews.

- NZPA