U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he did not expect large U.S. casualties from the Indian Ocean tsunami although "there are a lot of Americans we haven't heard from." "There are several thousand" American travelers, Powell said, whose whereabouts were unknown. Fifteen U.S. deaths were confirmed in the catastrophe that killed more than 130,000 people. "But there are a lot of Americans that we haven't heard from," Powell said on CNN's "Late Edition" program. "Their families are not sure where they are." However, with only 15 U.S. deaths counted in a week, "I don't expect a huge number of American casulties," Powell said. The State Department's "welfare and whereabouts" office has resolved hundreds of inquiries in the past week about the safety of Americans, according to one account. Hundreds of queries remained, prompting some fears the U.S. toll would climb. So far, officials have listed 359 foreign tourists killed by the massive waves a week ago and more than 7,000 foreigners missing. --SP 2320 Local Time 2020 GMT
