Denmark's crown prince and the country's prime minister yesterday visited a shelter for hundreds of villagers left homeless when the December 26 tsunami battered the coast of southern Thailand.
Frederik, his wife, Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Economics and Business Minister Bendt Bendtsen were welcomed by volunteers and Thai villagers at a temporary shelter for the largely impoverished victims.
The Indian Ocean tsunami killed more than 5300 and left 2900 missing in Thailand, most of them in the resort town of Khao Lak and nearby fishing villages in Phang Nga province, 120 kilometres north of the resort island of Phuket. Nearly half the dead were vacationing foreigners.
The royals watched fishermen repairing their tsunami-damaged boats and fishing nets and children at the camp performed traditional Thai dances.
The official delegation, together with 210 relatives of the victims, also attended a private memorial service in a hotel in Khao Lak. Thirty-six Danes have been confirmed dead and 10 are still missing.
