Schumi mourns bodyguard killed in tsunami

Schumi mourns bodyguard killed 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 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 sympathise with
the victims in their grief," Schumacher said Tuesday after his
pledge of 10 million dollars.

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 80 million dollars, 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.

In Colombo on Wednesday, Sri Lankan cricketers launched a fund
to aid survivors of the tsunami which battered the island.

The fund, Cricket-Aid, was launched at a ceremony at the
headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket during which cricket chiefs and
leading players lit oil lamps in tribute to the more than 30,000
Sri Lankans who died in the tragedy.

"Many of them were ardent cricket fans who had cheered us
through the years," said national captain Marvin Attapatu after
unveiling the logo of the fund -- a pair of cricketing gloves
holding up a map of Sri Lanka. "It is our turn to help them."

Cricket-Aid hopes to raise two million dollars through appeals
to cricket-lovers locally and internationally, through charity
matches in various parts of the cricketing world, and through
sales of merchandise such as autographed shirts and caps.

In Australia, officials said nearly 20,000 tickets had been
sold for the Asian Tsunami Appeal fund-raising cricket one-day
game at the 80,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on
Jan. 10.

Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant and five other National
Basketball Association stars are teamming up with UNICEF to raise
money.

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, Houston's Bob Sura, Memphis' Pau
Gasol and Mike Miller, and Toronto's Jalen Rose have also pledged
to donate 1,000 dollars for every point they score in specific
games this week.

Ireland's Ryder Cup hero Padraig Harrington announced that all
proceeds from the his Charity Golf Show on Jan. 22 in Dublin
would go towards the Asian Tsunami Disaster Fund.

The 1,500 tickets for the show range in price from 30 euros
for children to 65 for adults.

Leading women tennis stars observed a minute's silence at the
Hong Kong invitational tournament.

Russia's Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams
of the United States paid their respects and said they will also
donate to a fund-raising auction signed racquets and other
souvenirs from the event.

Sharapova had already donated $10,000 to the Thai government's
victim relief fund during an exhibition event last week in
Bangkok.

Former Denmark football international Stig Tofting is set to
auction 53 football shirts on the internet and hopes to raise
almost $10,000.

On Tuesday, German tennis star Nicolas Kiefer said he would
donate $100 per ace he served in three Australian tournaments.

The German football federation and league announced a donation
of 1.5 million euros, while Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich will
stump up at least 300,000 euros for a school or orphanage project
in Sri Lanka.

In addition, a Germany XI will play a friendly match on Jan.
25 against a Bundesliga select side, with proceeds also going to
victims of the catastrophe.

The French football federation also donated one million euros.
Football's world ruling body FIFA also pledged two million
dollars, but specified that it was destined to help rebuild the
footballing infrastructure in Asian countries hit by the
tsunamis.

GetAFP 2.10 -- JAN 6, 2005 08:37:43