A 42-year-old German teacher living and working in Hong Kong was confirmed dead Monday after being swept away by the tsunami in the southern Thai resort of Krabi. Markus Knoesel from Hamburg had lived in Hong Kong for more than three years and taught chemistry and biology at the territory's German-Swiss International School. The school said Monday that Knoesel's family had already shipped his remains home to Hamburg for a funeral service. A prayer session will be held at the school Tuesday morning. News of Knoesel's death comes after five members of another German family with Hong Kong connections were also believed to have been killed by the tsunami on December 26. Hong Kong-based businessman Holger Dreher, 41, his daughter Yvette, 12, and son Christopher, 6, were washed out of their holiday home in Khao Lak north of Phuket. Dreher's sister and her son, who were visiting from their home in Germany, were also washed out from the bungalow and were believed to have perished in the flood waters. Dreher's Hong Kong Chinese wife and his eight-year-old son Leonard survived. Dreher had lived in Hong Kong for 15 years and was on holiday with his family, his sister and her son, as well as his father Siegfried and mother Camilla, who also both survived after being washed away.
