WASHINGTON, September 4 (RIA Novosti, Arkady Orlov) - About 35 countries have made inquiries to the U.S. Department of State about the fate of their citizens in the zone hit by Hurricane Katarina, a U.S. State Department official said Sunday.
Several hundred names are on the list of missing foreign citizens sought by their respective governments, the official said.
At present, rescue services and the U.S. State Department do not have exact data on the number of foreigners that might have been in the hurricane zone, although last Wednesday U.S. State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack appealed to all foreign citizens in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to contact their relatives, friends or respective embassy officials in Washington whenever the opportunity arises, using any means available, including telephones, e-mail, etc.
According to Russia's Consulate General in Houston (Texas), the Russian diplomats have located 74 Russian citizens in the area hit by the hurricane.
