The Department of Foreign Affairs has said the number of Irish people unaccounted for following the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean is now fewer than the 24 people listed up to yesterday.
A spokeswoman said that while the Department could not comment on individual cases, she could confirm that a number of people on that list had been found or successfully made contact with friends or family.
However, the spokeswoman conceded it was still possible that a number of Irish people may be travelling independently and that the Department has no note of them as missing or unaccounted for.
She urged people worried about loved ones as yet unaccounted for to get in touch with officials as soon as they had heard from them. Consular staff are following every possible line of information, including websites and informal discussion forums, it is understood.
Some 140,000 people in the Indian Ocean region have been confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake and tsunami disaster, which struck last Sunday morning.
The Irish who have not yet been accounted for are among 3,500 tourists still missing. There were around 700 Irish people in the region when the earthquake happened last Sunday.
Ireland's Ambassador to Thailand said this afternoon there were still no confirmed deaths of Irish nationals in the tidal wave.
Mr Don Mulhall told RTÉ Radio the number of Irish people reported missing was dropping with each day and he urged those who had failed to make contact to phone relations, the Department of Foreign Affairs or the embassy in Thailand. He also said he had received assurances from Thai government officials that no Irish citizens had been cremated or buried in mass graves.
A website has been set up by the Irish Asian Chamber of Commerce to assist relatives looking for missing Irish people in the region. It can be accessed at www.saintpatricksbangkok.com
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, appealed yesterday to people with relatives in southern Asia to contact the Department if they have heard news from them. The Department of Foreign Affairs is operating a helpline number on (01) 408 2308.