3 Canadians dead, 18 listed as missing

till reeling from the aftershocks of his own tsunami nightmare, Vancouver schoolteacher Michael Lang refused yesterday to leave what was once a Thai tourist paradise and is now a scene of horror and devastation.

Mr. Lang, his girlfriend, Rubina Wong, and his sister, Christine, were among hundreds of Canadians spending Christmas on Thai beaches. Yesterday, in the wake of the natural disaster that has claimed more than 26,000 lives, he continued to search for Ms. Wong. His 33-year-old sister survived the waves that appear to have swept away Ms. Wong, 25, of Richmond, B.C.

Two Canadians were killed in Thailand and a third died on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, the Foreign Affairs Department said. Two other Canadians are listed as missing in Thailand, five are unaccounted for in Indonesia and 11 are unaccounted for in the Maldives.

On Sunday, the day of the massive earthquake that led to the killer waves, Mr. Lang decided to go scuba diving while his sister and girlfriend planned to attend a spa.

"Michael is quite fit and strong, both in his upper and lower body," Michael's father, William Lang, said in an interview from Vancouver where he is an emergency-room physician.

"He recalls jumping over fences and running to a hill. He got high enough up that the water never reached him."

Dr. Lang, who has spoken to his children several times by phone, said that his son was at the scuba kiosk about to be outfitted with his gear when he saw the water approaching.

It was far different for Ms. Lang and Ms. Wong.

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