Tsunami death toll rises to 159,445

PHUKET, Thailand, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The death toll from Southeast Asia's catastrophic tsunamis has climbed to 159,445, Sky News reported Friday.

Indonesia alone said the number killed by the earthquake and resulting killer waves had jumped by almost 20,000 people to 113,306.

Aid workers agree that the latest totals are hardly the last totals.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in Phuket, Thailand, to see the extent of the devastation, said the number of Britons confirmed dead was now 49, with 391 "very likely" victims. Most perished in Thailand, he said.