U.S. Tsunami Toll Raised To 36

Officials Trying To Track Down Thousands Of Missing Americans

(CBS/AP)  The toll of Americans presumed dead in the South Asian tsunami has more than doubled, a senior State Department official said Wednesday, as the government added 20 more people to the list of those known previously to have perished.

That brings to 36 the total number of Americans known to have died; nineteen of the additional victims reported Wednesday were in Thailand and the 20th in Sri Lanka, two of the hardest-hit countries, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The decision to list them as presumed dead is based on accounts of survivors, the official said.

Some 4,000 to 6,000 Americans have not been located, but the State Department has declined until now to provide any estimate of how many are presumed dead. This is in contrast to other governments that have lost people in the disaster.

On Tuesday, department spokesman Adam Ereli said there were 16 known dead, eight in Thailand and eight in Sri Lanka.

The State Department has hesitated to estimate how many Americans who have not been located were assumed to be victims. For more than a week, department officials have been checking airline passenger lists, U.S. embassies abroad and sifting through telephone calls for concerned relatives and friends.

Hundreds of names have been taken off the tentative list of Americans who had not been located, but others have taken their place as the inquiry proceeds.

CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports people are using Web sites like the Lonely Planet or the Red Cross to track down traveling relatives. Occasionally, there are responses bearing good news, but that information isn't always shared with the U.S. government, leaving many of the unaccounted for just that.

Embassy officials are asking travelers to check in with families and U.S. diplomatic posts.