*********************************************************

A Government spokesman said today (December 31) that as at 12 noon today, the Immigration Department's hotline (2829 3010) had received a total of 877 enquiries and 985 requests for assistance.

Of the 985 requests for assistance, 557 HK residents were reported to have lost contact with their families in HK. The callers in most of these cases were able to provide the personal particulars of the residents concerned as well as information about their last known location to the Immigration Department.

Of the above 557 residents, 381 have either reestablished contact with their families or returned safely to Hong Kong. There are 174 outstanding cases which Immigration Department will follow up. Amongst them, 113 were reported to be in Thailand, three in Malaysia, 12 in Sri Lanka, three in Maldives, 15 in Indonesia and 28 in other places.

In addition, callers also reported that another 1 340 Hong Kong residents might be stranded in the areas affected by the tsunamis but were unable to provide the personal particulars of the residents concerned or specific information about their last known locations. The Immigration Department is in the process of liaising with the callers in respect of each of these cases to seek the information required for following these cases up expeditiously. As at noon today, 497 residents falling in this category have already been located, leaving the total number of outstanding cases to 843.

As at noon today, the number of fatalities remained at two and there is no reported case of Hong Kong residents being hospitalized in Phuket.

The spokesman cautioned that the number of cases involving HK residents reported to have lost contact with their families in HK could see a rise following the end of the holiday period.

The spokesman appealed to employers to report to the Immigration Department hotline (2829 3010) if their employees failed to turn up to work after vacation.

As for schools, the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) has issued a circular to all primary, secondary, special schools, kindergarten and international schools reminding school heads to pay particular attention on how to help students distressed by the sudden death of teacher, peer, family member in the recent tsunami disaster.

Reference materials for supporting distressed students have been uploaded on the EMB website and schools can also contact their respective Regional Educational Office if professional support is required for serious cases.

On the multi-disciplinary support team from the HKSAR Government, the spokesman said that the support team has now set up three help desks operating round-the-clock at Bangkok International Airport, the Phuket International Airport and the co-ordination centre in Phuket.

Staff are also deployed at airline office counters and major hospitals to provide assistance to Hong Kong people there.

The support team has also set up a command centre at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to oversee the entire operation.

Telephone hotlines have been in operation for Hong Kong residents in Thailand to call for assistance. They are: 096471215 and 096471208 (for calling from Thailand) or Hong Kong number (852) 9038 6578.

For local Hong Kong residents, they are urged to call the Immigration Department's hotline (2829 3010) for assistance.

The Government has contacted a number of international relief agencies, informing them they could apply to the Disaster Relief Fund for allocation. The agencies, including the Red Cross, World Vision, and Oxfam etc, have all indicated that they would apply for emergency funds.

The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration has so far approved a relief funding totaling $14 million to World Vision and Oxfam so as to facilitate the agencies to arrange timely relief supplies and assistance to those in need in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Also, upon request from Thai authorities, the first consignment of relief supplies donated by HKSAR Government will be forwarded to Thailand by air tomorrow.

In addition, the Home Affairs Bureau and the Home Affairs Department with the 18 District Officers have been supplementing the efforts of the Security Bureau and the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau by offering help to those who are in Hong Kong waiting anxiously for news about their family members who have travelled to the tsunami-hit areas. So far till this afternoon, they have established contact with 110 families and together with the Social Welfare Department are providing assistance to them. A "help desk" has also been set up at the Hong Kong International Airport to provide enquiry and referral services to those returning to Hong Kong.

The 18 District Officers will contact those who have returned to Hong Kong. Residents in need of assistance can call the Home Affairs Department hotline 2835-1473. The department will follow up on their cases and provide referral services in accordance with their needs.

For more information the tsunamis incident, members of the public can browse a dedicated web page which can be accessed through a hyperlink at the Government homepage (www.info.gov.hk) or click into an Immigration Department web page (www.immd.gov.hk) for access to this dedicated web page.

Containing hotlines of Chinese embassies and consulates in the tsunami-hit areas, concerned HKSAR Government departments, information assistance rendered and press releases, the web page will be updated regularly.

Ends/Friday, December 31, 2004

NNNN

Real Media (Floor / Cantonese / Putonghua / English)
Windows Media (Floor / Cantonese / Putonghua / English )