The number of people dead and buried in the earthquake and tsunami disaster on Dec. 26 in Indonesia has reached 149,221, provincial Department of Information and Communication of Aceh said on Monday.

The rise was attributed to the discovery of some 580 bodies in Banda Aceh, the capital city of the province, 570 bodies in Aceh Besar district and nine bodies in west coastal area, an official of the department told Xinhua by telephone.

But he said the number of people missing remained at 114,922.

He said that over 4,600 people were still hospitalized and about 78,000 others suffered minor injuries.

There are still thousands of bodies, under the debris in the affected areas in Aceh province, yet to be removed due to lack of facilities and personnel.

The catastrophe on Dec. 26 has also displaced more than a half million people who are now living in temporary camps.

Source: Xinhua