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A Government spokesman said that at noon today (January 24), the Immigration Department's hotline (2829 3010) had received 877 enquiries and 1,426 requests for assistance.

Meanwhile, there remained 30 unlocated Hong Kong residents of whom 28 were reported to be in Thailand and two in Indonesia.

As of today, 12 Hong Kong residents are reported to have died. At the moment, no Hong Kong residents are known to remain in hospital as a result of the tsunami disaster.

The Hong Kong Government will continue to follow up on all outstanding cases and provide practical assistance to Hong Kong residents requiring assistance. Hong Kong residents may call the Immigration Department's hotline at 2829 3010 for assistance.

On the DNA database set up by the Thai authorities to help verify the identity of victims in the disaster, the spokesman said that Hong Kong Police continued to contact relatives of unlocated Hong Kong people for the collection of DNA samples. The Police had so far taken samples from 27 family members of unlocated people.

Ends/Monday, January 24, 2005

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