Foreign military aid flows as Sri Lanka tsunami toll crosses 30,000

US marines arrived in Sri Lanka as foreign military aid efforts picked up while the island's tsunami death toll hit 30,196, fuelling fears that disease could spread ahead of an internationally-backed cleanup effort.









US marines arrived in Sri Lanka as foreign military aid efforts picked up while the island's tsunami death toll hit 30,196, fuelling fears that disease could spread ahead of an internationally-backed cleanup effort. The contingent of 42 marines arrived in two aircraft Monday in addition to the dozen who came here at the weekend to prepare the ground for a bigger force that the US military says will grow to about 1,500 marines.

A British frigate, HMS Chatham, anchored off Sri Lanka's coast to help prepare plans for a military deployment to boost the humanitarian efforts, a British High Commission (Embassy) spokesman said.

"They will try to assess the needs and see how best British military assets can be deployed for the relief operation in Sri Lanka," the spokesman said.

A large team of 1,000 Indian naval personnel are already in two locations of the island carrying out relief work and treating thousands of survivors.

Foreign ministry officials here said 30 nations were invo