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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States dispatched disaster specialists Monday and prepared an initial $15 million aid package to the Asian countries hit by a massive earthquake and tsunamis. U.S. officials were seeking to contact hundreds of Americans who remain unaccounted for in the region. most based tjhao;amd adam ereli
Secretary of State Colin Powell said eight Americans died in the natural disaster, and that embassy officials were trying to locate other U.S. citizens who have not been heard from since Sunday's quake.
"We will do everything we can to immediately help," Powell said. "This is, indeed, an international tragedy."
U.S. officials immediately sent $100,000 each to India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, and planned to donate $4 million later Monday to help Red Cross disaster efforts, Powell said.
The initial U.S. aid package being crafted was expected to reach at least $15 million, said Ed Fox of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He called it an initial response until surveys are concluded and requests considered.
Also, Fox said, the United States was drawing on shelter, food, water cans and other supplies that were kept in reserve in the Philippines and in Dubai.
Powell cautioned that was a "quick infusion" and that the administration was prepared to help with long-term rebuilding.
He also said while several hundred Americans were unaccounted for it does not imply they were casualties. "It just means we haven't been able to reach out and get contact with them," he told reporters at the State Department.
Assessment groups were sent to Thailand and Indonesia, and 21 specialists will fan out through the region to help with sanitation, health and relief supplies, Fox said. Most of the specialists are based in Thailand.
The U.S. Navy said it sent three P-3 surveillance aircraft from Kadena air base on the Japanese island of Okinawa to Utaphao, Thailand, to conduct survey operations, including a possible role in search-and-rescue efforts.
The Navy said it had no reports of damage to any of its ships or bases in the region.
President Bush expressed his condolences over the "terrible loss of life and suffering," the White House said. Bush is beginning a post-Christmas vacation at his Crawford, Texas ranch.
Powell said Bush had written letters to the heads of state in the countries damaged by the disaster.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
