Schumacher mourns bodyguard who died in tsunami

Schumacher mourns bodyguard who died in tsunami

Seven-time world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, who
has donated US$10 million to the victims of last week's Asian
tsunamis, revealed in Paris on Wednesday that one of his
bodyguards died in the tragedy.

Schumacher said on his website that the bodyguard Burkhard
Cramer, 44, was killed at Phuket in Thailand.

Cramer's two children Henry, five, and four-year-old Mika, are
also understood to have died.

"The dawning of the New Year has not been as joyful for us
this year because of the catastrophe in Asia. We sympathize with
the victims in their grief," Schumacher said Tuesday after his
donation pledge.

The death toll from the massive Dec. 26 earthquake and
resulting tidal waves around the Indian Ocean stands at around
146,000.

Schumacher, second only to Tiger Woods on the Forbes magazine
of the world's richest sportsmen last year with an annual income
of US$80 million, is well known for his charitable gifts.

In 2004, he donated 1.15 million euros to UNESCO and 770,000
euros the year before.

Throughout the world, leading sports personalities have
rallied to the call for help. --AFP