Two Indian nationals were among the nearly 700 people killed and thousands injured by the killer tsunami in southern Thailand, officials said on Monday.

• Tsunami: Waves of destruction

An official in the embassy told rediff.com that two Indians, both women, are believed to have died. The embassy is in the process of getting details from local officials.

Names of the deceased are Sangita Tushar Shah (Mumbai) and Sumanam Sridhra (Andhra Pradesh).

The embassy has set up a 'direct help line' in Bangkok to help relatives locate their kin.

The phone number is - 00-662-2604166.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said some 600 to 700 people were killed when the tidal wave struck the resort island of Phuket and the surrounding region.

Former Thai deputy agriculture minister Borom Tanthien was among those killed in Khao Lak Lamru National Park in Takua Phang Nga island.

Twenty more people were killed in this area, media reports said.

Grandson of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumi Jensen (21) was also among those killed in the resort.

Meanwhile, rescue workers scoured beaches, coastal towns and resorts after killer waves backed by powerful water walls flattened and drowned hundreds of people, including several foreign tourists and injured nearly thousands when they were caught unawares while holidaying on the idyllic islands of Phi Phi, Ranong, Krabi and Phuket.

Thai navy warships steamed toward islands in the area to rescue survivers, at least 200 of whom were evacuated by helicopter from Phi Phi in a dramatic night operation, local media reports said.

They said several Western and Asian holiday makers were killed in the four tsunami onslaughts.

Among the missing, injured or dead were nationals of South Korea, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, Britain, Denmark, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Chile and the US.