A Hong Kong government spokesman said Monday that the Thai authorities had recently confirmed the death of three unlocated Hong Kong residents in the tsunami through their victim identification process.

This brought the total number of Hong Kong residents reported to have deceased in the disaster to 15. Meanwhile, there remained 25 unlocated Hong Kong residents. All were reported to be in Thailand.

Hong Kong government has approached the families of the deceased to provide practical assistance, said the spokesman, adding that the government will continue to follow outstanding cases and provide aid to Hong Kong residents and their families where necessary.

The Hong Kong police have contacted relatives of missing Hong Kong residents to collect DNA samples for analysis on a voluntary basis. Analyzed DNA information as well as finger print records were sent to the Thai authorities through the appropriate channel for identification purpose.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2005)