Three more New Zealanders may have died in Thailand

UPDATE - It appears likely up to three more New Zealanders were killed in tsunami-affected Southern Thailand as 64 New Zealanders remain unaccounted for in the area.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said on National Radio this morning there were unconfirmed reports of "two or three" more casualties, but getting official confirmation was difficult.

"Sometimes it may be a relative that has seen a photo that the Thais have put around and said 'yes, that looks like the particular individual I know'. But given the state of the bodies we haven't yet been able to do DNA testing," he said.

Two of the 11 New Zealanders hospitalised in Thailand were undergoing surgery for "horrendous" wounds today.

There were still more than 230 New Zealanders unaccounted for somewhere in Thailand, while 526 of a total of 834 on the register had been confirmed alive and well.

"I guess the good news is the unaccounted for number is coming down, the alive and well figure is going up. The worry is, as we refine those figures we have increasing concern for those that remain on the list of unaccounted for in the tsunami area," Mr Goff said.

Mr Goff said New Zealanders were still being discovered leaving Bangkok airport without having notified authorities, and families were still only now getting confirmation of safety from relatives.

"But realistically I think we have to expect further fatalities."

Mr Goff said several days on from the tsunami, bodies were now virtually unrecognisable and Thais were very anxious to bury them to minimise risks of disease.

"We have, however, guidelines from them that they say where a body is known to be a foreigner they will be temporarily buried individually in a casket, and DNA samples -- hair and tissue -- will be taken for identification purposes."

New Zealand officials also had a refrigerated container in Phuket for bodies that a New Zealand police team would be working on, and other containers were being shipped in.

"The difficulty is that the sea is only now giving up some of the casualties, people are being found under rubble and in the sort of climatic conditions that exist in the region you would understand that the bodies are in very bad condition."

A Foreign Affairs and Trade statement said there were no indications of any New Zealand casualties in Indonesia, Malaysia or the Maldives.

But information received at call centres suggested there was a possibility New Zealanders could be missing in India and/or Sri Lanka.

The New Zealand High Commission in Delhi was still making enquiries.

The overall death toll from the disaster had this morning spiralled out to 125,000, with 80,000 casualties in Indonesia.

Former Paraparaumu woman Leone Cosens is the only confirmed New Zealand casualty to date.

New Zealanders were urged to contact the Red Cross if they had heard from friends and relatives in the affected areas.

- NZPA