Marian shrine in India becomes makeshift morgue after tsunami

Published: 2004-12-28

VAILANKANNI, India (CNS) -- Father P. Xavier used to care for thousands of pilgrims who flocked to India's most famous Marian shrine during the Christmas season. But this year, the priest was busy recovering dead bodies from under the debris of inns and shops that once ringed the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at Vailankanni, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Most of these buildings collapsed Dec. 26 after a tsunami -- a series of waves generated by an undersea seismic disturbance -- struck southern coastal areas, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. A massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island generated tsunamis with waves up to 10 meters high that caused massive devastation on islands and coastlines of eight countries in South and Southeast Asia. As of Dec. 28, The Associated Press was reporting that the combined death toll had passed 40,000. Sri Lanka had the highest reported number of casualties, 18,700, with Indonesia second at 15,000. In India, local media reported at least 7,500 deaths. The tolls were expected to rise.

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