Apia, Samoa: Over 200 New Zealanders are still missing in Samoa as diplomatic authorities try to locate Kiwis who were holidaying in the tsunami ravaged island nation, reports New Zealand Herald.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has so far located 593 New Zealanders but officials are still searching for 231 people believed to have been Samoa at the time of the earthquake and tsunami.

Meanwhile Members of Parliament are working alongside members of the public as a huge international relief effort gets under way in Samoa and Tonga.

Acting Prime Minister Bill English today said New Zealand was ready to assist Tonga but is yet to receive a request for aid in dealing with the tsunami disaster.

Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Mr English said Tonga would get part of the $1 million initial allocation of money to deal with the aftermath, but was “reasonably self-sufficient” in recovering from the disaster.
New Zealand, which had air force Orion and Hercules aircraft in the islands yesterday, is sending two more military aircraft today.

An air force Boeing 757 is carrying medical evacuation and search and rescue teams, while a Hercules will carry a light operational vehicle and a desalination plant to ensure fresh water supplies.

Mr English said Foreign Minister Murray McCully would be on one of the flights and would talk directly to Samoan government officials about what further aid was needed.

Prime Minister John Key, who is returning early from a holiday in the US, will fly to Samoa tomorrow.

The unofficial death toll from Wednesday's devastating earthquake and series of tsunamis stands at more than 150. Many of those killed were elderly people or children too weak or slow to run for the hills.