Tsunami death toll revised up to 225,000

The official death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami rose above 225,000 today following a revised total of fatalities by the…

The official death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami rose above 225,000 today following a revised total of fatalities by the Indonesian government.

People release floating lanterns in memory of the tsunami victims in north of Phuket
People release floating lanterns in memory of the tsunami victims in north of Phuket

The Indonesian Health Ministry raised the country's death toll to 166,320 today.

The new figure was based on latest reports from the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, which were directly in the path of the killer tsunami spawned by the massive earthquake on December 26 th.

The new death toll - a jump of more than 50,000 on the ministry's last figure - includes many people who were previously listed as missing, a senior ministry official said.

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There are 38,195 people officially confirmed dead in Sri Lanka, 16,383 in India and 5,322 in Thailand.

Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is to be the celebrant at a special Mass of Remembrance for the victims at the Pro-Cathedral on January 29 th.

Following the service, he will present a cheque for over €3 million to Trócaire. The funds were raised following a special church collection in the Diocese for victims of the disaster.