ROME, Dec 29 (AFP) - An estimated 600 Italians remain unaccounted for following the Asian tsunami disaster, which has already claimed the lives of at least 14 Italian nationals, Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Wednesday.
"We are without news of around 600 Italians, by a conservative estimate. We are increasingly concerned about their fate," Fini told a press conference.
"We have to be prepared for the worst. The number of Italians present in the zone is higher than we had thought," he added.
Previous estimates had said that around 100 Italians were missing.
Fini also revised the death toll up to 14, from the previous figure of 13 dead.
According to the latest figures, Fini said, at least 3,500 Italians live in the affected areas, in addition to the 5,000 holidaymakers thought to have travelled to the region.
"It is a high figure, and it surprised us," Fini said. "As time goes on, the chances increase of there being more victims," he warned.
Fini said 2,800 Italians had been repatriated since the disaster struck, adding that the foreign minstry had allocated three million euros (four million dollars) to provide immediate relief to the affected areas in South and Southeast Asia.
12/29/2004 17:12 GMT - AFP