A total of 60 Swedes have been identified among the dead and 3,500 are missing after the massive earthquake and tidal waves that slammed the Indian Ocean coastlines, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

"Yes, we have identified 60 dead and there are 3,500 missing," ministry spokesman Daniel Emilson told APR

1 Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson had on Thursday warned that the Swedish fatalities were "going to end up in the hundreds, in the worst-case scenario exceed ■ 1,000."

The large majority of the Swedes confirmed dead were holidaying in southern Thailand.

Sweden looks likely to be one of the Western countries hardest-hit by the catastrophe.

Persson has previously called the catastrophe "probably the worst of our time and will impact everyday Swedish life for a longtime to come."