Colombo, Jan. 1: Grieving families of children who died in the tsunamis in Sri Lanka are taking away orphans without official approval to replace their lost loved ones.

The government has pleaded with parents to stop, while Save the Children asked them to follow proper adoption procedures. An official from the department of child care and protection said he had heard of a dozen cases in Galle and Matara, on Sri Lanka?s southern coast, in which orphaned children had been taken by bereaved families. The exact circumstances in which the children were taken, or if they were related to the families taking them, is as yet unclear.

According to yesterday?s figures, 28,627 people died on the island, with children accounting for a third of the victims. Save the Children?s office in Sri Lanka said it had also heard of impromptu adoptions. ?The families doing this are trying to deal with their own grief of having lost their children,? said Maleec Calyanaratne, the group?s spokesman.