Tsunami: NZ dispatches police officer to Phuket

A view of the damage caused by a tsunami at Patong beach in Phuket. Picture / Reuters

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade today dispatched a Bangkok-based New Zealand police liaison officer to the southern resort of Phuket after a tsunami devastated the area.

One tourist has been reported killed and another five were missing in Phuket which is a popular tourist spot for New Zealanders and Australians.

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, stuck in the Indian Ocean yesterday and triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into coastlines across Asia killing thousands of people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

There had been no reports of New Zealanders being killed or injured, ministry spokesman James Kember said today.

One of the difficulties for ministry officials was gathering information from the affected area which covered about half of southeast Asia.

"It's not as if we are dealing with an isolated area," he told NZPA. "This is a huge spread of coastline."

About 3500 had been reportedly killed on the west coast of Sri Lanka but it was not a common tourist destination, Mr Kember said.

Foreign affairs officials said yesterday that New Zealanders living in the affected areas of Indonesia's North Sumatra and India's Bay of Bengal were safe and had been accounted for.

However, there are concerns for New Zealand tourists whose whereabouts is unknown to the ministry.

Foreign Affairs has set up a hotline for people concerned about the safety of family members visiting or living in the devastated areas.

More than 100 calls had been fielded this morning by ministry staff who had volunteered to man the phones, a consular division spokeswoman said today.

There would be up to 10 staff managing calls by late morning, she told NZPA.

Any one wanting information about friends or relatives in the affected southeast Asia areas can ring the ministry on 0800 432 111.

- NZPA

* If anyone has information on New Zealanders in the tsunami affected areas please contact newsdesk@nzherald.co.nz