Seventeen New Zealanders missing in Thailand

There are now 17 New Zealanders believed to be missing in Thailand after the Boxing Day tsunami that has so far claimed two New Zealand lives.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said that overnight the number of New Zealanders missing in Thailand had been reduced from 23.

"We've been calling back, we've been getting calls from...from friends and relations who have finally heard from the person they have been looking for," Mr Goff told National Radio.

"The 17 we're case managing quite intensively, doing everything we can to try and track those people.

"Seventeen is much better than 124 but when we get down that list we have a growing concern for a number of people on it."

"Intensive" work had reduced the wider list of 252 unaccounted for by a third to 170.

Mr Goff said there were many miracle stories coming out of the area of people surviving in a way many would not have believed possible.

"I really fear that in terms of the people that may be deceased that's going to take quite a long time to get finality, for some of course there'll never be finality because the bodies are still, out to sea".

- NZPA