Tsunami victims found in Biak

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: As many as 33 bodies, victims of the tsunami which hit Aitape in neighboring Papua New Guinea, have washed up on the Biak Timur district coast.

Biak Numfor Police chief Lt. Col. Jhony Rori told journalists yesterday that the bodies were believed to be victims of the July 17 tsunami which devastated villages on Papua New Guinea's northern coast. Some 2,000 people were believed to have been killed.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that the bodies had decomposed and were impossible to identify.

The bodies were quickly buried in a brief religious ceremony by local residents after they had reported to authorities.

Apart from the bodies, residents also found pieces of wooden panels carved in traditional Papua New Guinean designs.