A body lies in flood water after of Cyclone Nargis hit in Burma, on 3 May, 2008
THE Foreign Office is urgently trying to track down "a small number" of British nationals who are among the tens of thousands of people still unaccounted for in cyclone-hit Burma.
The long-term residents in the secretive south-east Asian state have failed to make contact with friends or family in the UK since the disaster struck.
The Foreign Office, which put the number of missing Britons at 17, stressed that problems with communications could be the reason.
It said it had heard no reports of any British casualties caught up in the emergency.
As the crisis heads into its seventh day, much-needed relief is only just beginning to arrive. The first UN aid flight landed in the closed country on Thursday.
Cyclone Nargis struck on Saturday, bringing winds of up 120mph and flooding to the Irrawaddy Delta region.
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Official figures put the death toll thus far at 22,980, with 42,119 missing.
But aid agencies and international representatives in Burma believe the final death toll could be more than four times higher.
Shari Villarosa, the charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Burma, has said there may be "more than 100,000 deaths" in the Irrawaddy Delta area. In addition, rotting human and animal corpses are threatening to spread disease.
About 200 British nationals live in Burma, while some 7,500 UK tourists are believed to visit the country every year.
The Disasters Emergency Committee - an umbrella group for 13 major aid organisations including Oxfam and Save the Children - has launched a national appeal for donations.
For further details, visit dec.org.uk or telephone 0870 60 60 900
Posted by: maharsein, Malaysia on 10:52am Fri 9 May 08
Whoever is telling they won't listen. Force is the only thing they know. So, UN, don't wait for their permission, DO WHAT U HAVE TO. Secretary General, this is the honor bestowed upon u to do it immediately. Don't listen to China, S.Africa, and other who oppose humanitarian aids for those who really are suffering and dying seconds by seconds.
PLEASE DON'T WAIT, TIME IS ESSENCE
Whoever is telling they won't listen. Force is the only thing they know. So, UN, don't wait for their permission, DO WHAT U HAVE TO. Secretary General, this is the honor bestowed upon u to do it immediately. Don't listen to China, S.Africa, and other who oppose humanitarian aids for those who really are suffering and dying seconds by seconds.
PLEASE DON'T WAIT, TIME IS ESSENCE
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