Posted on 12/28/2004 9:44:55 AM PST by alnitak
Last Updated: Tuesday, 28 December, 2004, 17:17 GMT
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Kohl rescued as Swedes fear worst
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Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was among thousands of foreign tourists caught in the tsunami disaster in southern Asia. Britons, Swiss, French, Australians, Danes, Italians, Japanese and Americans in the region were hit, but Swedes seem to be among the worst affected. Sweden's foreign minister said 1,500 were still missing, mainly in Thailand, and she feared many would not be found. Sri Lanka says its troops airlifted Mr Kohl from the roof of a flooded hotel. A spokesman for Mr Kohl said the 74-year-old had been staying at a coastal resort in Sri Lanka, where he was undergoing heath spa treatments, and was not hurt. "Kohl intends to complete his holiday," he added. A huge undersea quake triggered sea surges on Sunday killing at least 38,000 people, with thousands more feared dead. Millions of people are homeless, and the disaster zone is now threatened with outbreaks of disease. Hundreds of holidaymakers have already flown or are flying out of the region. The bodies of more than 700 mainly foreign tourists have been found in the Thai resort of Khao Lak - the government says the death toll in Thailand may rise to about 2,000. Text messages The BBC's Lars Bevanger said six Swedes are among the dead, but tour operators in Sweden say more than 1,500 of their charter tourists are missing from various tourist resorts on Thailand's west coast.
An unknown number of Swedish independent travellers are also missing. The Swedish Foreign Minister, Laila Freivalds, told journalists in Stockholm she feared many of them would never be found. She is travelling to Thailand with relief workers to assess the situation and help in efforts to get Swedish nationals home. The Swedish government has sent text messages to everyone who has a Swedish telephone in Thailand, hoping to gain some answers as to the whereabouts of some of the missing. The Swedish government has responded by chartering three large passenger planes, which will make 20 flights to Thailand in order to get all Swedish citizens back by next Tuesday. The south of Thailand is a very popular for Swedes, particularly at this time of year, which is normally the coldest in the Scandinavian country.
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Good grief...
Stop ranting about Kohl. He would have supported Bush in Iraq just like he supported Bush Sen. in Gulf I.
He's one of the few decent politicians left in Germany.
That too, but most of the independents are backpackers.
Well, thank goodness that the Sri Lankan Military had enough free time on their hands to rescue one guy off the roof of a hotel...
And, I'm so glad the Kohl has bounced back, and will continue his holiday. Probably do some sightseeing, maybe a little windsurfing ("The waves are killer, dude"), and if there's time maybe a little beachcombing...
A missed holiday; the horror, the horror.
Nothing against Kohl, But he could have sat on the roof a little longer.
The few resources they have in Thai could be used a bit more efficiently
A spokesman for Mr Kohl said the 74-year-old had been staying at a coastal resort in Sri Lanka, where he was undergoing heath spa treatments, and was not hurt.
"Kohl intends to complete his holiday," he added.
Well thank goodness for that. With all the death and destruction, it sure would be a tragedy if ol' Helmut didn't get to finish his vacation.
Poor guy.
Read another story where the Euro tourists were "demanding" that the beaches be cleaned up and that the American relief workers weer tehre only because of their guilt over the US destroying Iraq.
Link?
RIF
"Kohl Rescued as Swedes Fear Worst"
I never thought that Kohl was THAT bad.
Some Europeans complained that they had paid good money for their rooms and expected the beaches to be cleaned up promptly. Eurpoeans also were complaining that Americans who were working with local authoritities in the search and cleanup operations were doing so out of guilt in what they had done to the Iraqi people.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309626/posts
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