Indonesia: Rescuers set to call off survivor search

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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- With many thousands still missing, rescuers in the part of Southeast Asia that suffered most from last weekend's earthquake and tsunami stood ready to call off their search for survivors. U.S. forces pressed ahead with one of their biggest relief missions ever with the death toll likely to hit 150,000.

There is very little chance of finding survivors after seven days," Lamsar Sipahutar, the head of Indonesia's search team. "We are about to stop the search-and-rescue operations. If you survived the earthquake, you probably were killed by tsunami.

In the wiped-out coastal village of Kuede Teunom, where 8,000 of the 18,000 population were killed in the disaster, haggard survivors caught bottles of drinking water tossed from a U.S. Navy helicopter. "The need is desperate. There is nothing left to speak of," said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Vorce.

In India's devastated Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some villagers said they had still not received any help from outside, despite government claims that aid was reaching all affected sites. Officials said most of the island's jetties had been destroyed, making it difficult for boats to dock.