Washington, October 22: Authorities in American Samoa have raised the death toll from the tsunami late last month by two to 34, officials said Wednesday.
A 12-year-old girl and six-year-old boy previously classified as missing have been added to the toll, Homeland Security spokeswoman Betty Ah Soon said.
Although their bodies have not been found there is not now considered any hope of them having survived and their families have held memorials for them.
A Fijian woman who had been working in American Samoa was the only remaining person considered missing after the September 29 disaster, although it was not yet confirmed she had been in the territory when the tsunami struck, Ah Soon said.
The updated American Samoa takes the total toll for the disaster to 186, with 143 confirmed dead in Samoa and another nine in Tonga following the tsunami, which was triggered by a 8.0 magnitude earthquake.
–Agencies