The Disaster's Youngest Victims
It's believed a third or more of the tsunami victims are children. And in Thailand, many were foreigners on vacation with their parents.
Correspondent Barry Petersen reports from one of the most popular resort areas there about efforts to find them.
Many of the children's pictures are on the boards at Phuket's main hospital.
Max Werkelm is four, his big brother Charlie is all of 6.
Saga Kalm is 3.
Erika is from Japan.
Charlotte Svensson's tenth birthday party is two weeks from today.
Their faces are the posters put up by family members, a last desperate plea that somebody will spot a face and recognize it. They come from all over -- from France, from Spain, from Japan. Some have special identifying marks, a tattoo, what they were wearing the last time they were seen. And, there is literally no place to put another poster on the board.
When the waves hit the children could not know what was happening; did not know they should run. They were the least able to withstand nature's wrath, and that is why so many were just swept away.
Those rescued and rushed to hospitals were often separated from their parents where doctors found them lost somewhere deep in the terror of what they endured.
"I had a couple of these children who just came in staring against the wall and I cannot communicate to them," said Dr. Gerhardt Melcher, Vachira Phuket Hospital.
Leo and Camilla Eklof were part of a Christmas gathering of family and friends.
Another picture shows seventeen people. Fourteen are missing -- including all eight of the children.
Among them Leo's three grandchildren -- Teamu, Emilia and Julia.
"We are searching for 20 hours a day," said Camilla Eklof.
They have so many pictures from this joyous Christmas. But they no longer hope. A friend tried to comfort Camilla with these words: "They died happy because they were so happy here."
Teemu loved playing ice hockey.
Emilia's passion was horseback riding. She was the oldest.
And Julia. She was, said her grandmother, "my own little angel."