Thirty-five American citizens are believed to have died in the December 26 Asian tsunami disaster, spokesman of the State Department Richard Boucher said on Tuesday.

Ten of the confirmed deaths were in Thailand and eight in Sri Lanka, while the number of presumed dead fell to 17, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

US State Department said on Monday that 36 were either confirmed or presumed dead in the massive tidal wave.

Washington is still trying to track down 581 inquiries about loved ones. The number has dropped from 812 on Monday and down from the 30,000 received in the wake of the tsunami, Boucher said.

Source: Xinhua