280,000 presumed dead in tsunami

The number of people presumed dead in last month's Asian tsunamis rose to more than 280,000 on Tuesday, with Indonesian authorities announcing a further increase in the number of dead and missing.

Indonesia was hardest-hit by the December 26 quake and tsunamis, with a total 228,429 people listed as dead or missing, the health ministry said.

Thailand's toll edged up to 5,384 confirmed dead. A further 3,000 people were listed as missing, more than 1,000 of them foreigners.

The toll in Sri Lanka, which was second hardest hit by the catastrophe, stood at 30,957, according to the Centre for National Operations.

The number of people listed as missing was 5,637, but many were expected to be among those never formally identified, hurriedly buried and included in the confirmed death toll.