WASHINGTON, Jan 2: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday he did not expect large US casualties from the Indian Ocean tsunami although "there are a lot of Americans we haven't heard from".

"There are several thousand" American travelers, Mr Powell said, whose whereabouts were unknown. Fifteen US deaths were confirmed in the South Asian catastrophe. "But there are a lot of Americans that we haven't heard from," Powell said on CNN's 'Late Edition' programme. "Their families are not sure where they are."

However, with only 15 US deaths counted in a week, "I don't expect a huge number of American casualties," Mr 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 US toll would climb. -Reuters