SCORES of bodies were piled along the flood-ravaged coasts of Asia last night as the death toll from the tsunami terror headed towards 25,000.

Relief agencies, soldiers and consular staff from across the world joined the hunt for the missing as health experts warned of a growing risk of disease.

Fifteen Britons have been confirmed as being among the 23,700 dead following the under-sea earthquake, which registered 9.0 on the Richter scale -the world's strongest in 40 years.

Ten Britons were killed in Thailand, three in Sri Lanka and two in the Maldives.

Millions have been left homeless, thousands remain missing and hundreds are being treated for injuries after tsunamis crashed on to beaches in nine countries and left a trail of destruction.

Jayne Wheeler, from Hartlepool, last night said she was anxiously awaiting news from her brother Craig Perry, 20, who has not been in contact since Christmas Day.

Mr Perry was working on a barge off the coast of Thailand.

Ms Wheeler said: "We are very worried now as we have not heard anything at all and we are not even sure whereabouts he is.

"He was due home in two or three weeks."

On Sunday, killer waves, some 20ft high, were created by the quake under the sea off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Scientists said the quake was equal to the power of a million atomic bombs.

The waves' impact was felt on the coast of Somalia, in east Africa, almost 3,000 miles from the quake's epicentre.

l Sri Lanka reported 12,029 deaths.

l Indonesia confirmed at least 4,991 dead, with the number there expected to top 10,000.

l India said it had about 4,000 fatalities.

l Thailand, where many British tourists were staying, said 866 people were killed.

l Somalian officials said hundreds of people, many of them fishermen, had died and that villages had been washed away.

Fears are growing that there may have been a massive loss of life in the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, where there are already 3,000 dead.

Sri Lankan officials have declared a national disaster and similar measures have been taken in the Maldives, the string of 1,192 coral atolls where 43 people were killed.

Fifty-two people were confirmed dead in Malaysia, 34 in Burma and two in Bangladesh.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was nearly six miles deep and was followed by at least six powerful aftershocks.

Travelling at about 500mph, the first huge waves began pummelling southern Thailand an hour after the quake at 1am British time on Sunday.

Within two-and-a-half hours, the torrents had travelled 1,000 miles and hit India and Sri Lanka, before travelling 3,000 miles across the Indian Ocean to surge against Africa's east coast.

Teams of British consular staff sent to south Thailand and to the flood-hit city of Galle, in southern Sri Lanka, described scenes of chaos and devastation.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the final number of British casualties was likely to be much higher.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said 15 British teachers on holiday in the south of Sri Lanka had been found safe and well after fears for their safety.

Operations have begun to evacuate tourists from the stricken countries, with Britons already arriving back in the UK.

In Thailand, military aircraft have been ferrying the injured to Bangkok, and 200 foreigners, including 50 Britons, are on standby to head out of Sri Lankan capital Colombo.

Thai resident Barrie West, 61, who was born in London but who has lived on Phuket for four years, said people had to step over bodies to get off the nearby islands of Ko Phi Phi.

He said: "My friends are just lucky to be alive, it was just chaos.

"People had to tread on bodies to get off the island -everything has been destroyed."

Pakistani naval ships are acting as transport in the Maldives, and three charter flights from the islands were last night due to land at Gatwick. A service will arrive in Manchester today.

Tourist leaders said up to 10,000 British tourists may have been on holiday in the countries hit.

The UN, UK, EU, Irish government and Scottish Executive have all pledged financial aid. British charities are joining relief efforts across Asia.

Response teams from the Department for International Development have also travelled to affected regions.

Communication problems continue to frustrate anxious relatives, with thousands of British families calling helplines in London and abroad to find the services engaged or unobtainable.

The Foreign Office helpline number is 0207 008 0000.

More reports - Page 3