Eyewitness Telling

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By: Friend on: Dec-29-2004, 16:23
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ARNON SION (India) call home ASAP please

By: Deepa, Galle, Sri Lanka on: Dec-28-2004, 13:59
Email: DeepaD@hotmail.com

I was at the Selaka Shopping Complex at Galle. There was a great hissing sound from the sea and the sea seemed to be caving in. Within seconds, a great wave came rushing in to the shore, destroying everything and sweeping away everybody who was in the way. Everyone vanished in a second. The whole town was destroyed, along with people at the bus stand and vehicles on the road within few seconds. It is like a dream. I have never seen anything like it.

By: Basab Bagchi, Colombo, Sri Lanka on: Dec-28-2004, 13:59
Email: BasabB@yahoo.com

I was about to take a boat ride with my wife and had left my eight-year-old son in the pool adjacent to the sea when I suddenly felt the seawater rising. We ran towards the hotel and yelled to my son to get out of the pool. In a flash I lifted him up and ran towards the staircase. The wave hit us but still I managed to get to the first floor. My wife had managed to climb the diving board in the swimming pool and when the water started rising she floated up and got hold of a tree and was clinging to it for dear life. Suddenly the next wave came. It was more intense and it was a nerve-wrecking scene as we shouted to her to hold on tightly. She was shouting back that the tree might collapse. Anyhow, the water started receding and we rescued her and got, leaving all our belongings other than our Indian passports.

By: Daniel Novak, Prague, Czech Republic on: Dec-28-2004, 13:58
Email: danialN@worldnet.com

I was staying at Ao Nang in Thailand and on Sunday went on a day trip to some islands. My girlfriend was sunbathing and I was snorkeling around the first island when the water turned brown. It was a struggle to reach the beach but I eventually landed in some mangrove bushes. We were very lucky. I tried to administer first aid to several victims but unfortunately they died in front of me.

By: Jason and Lisa Bagby, Los Angeles, California on: Dec-28-2004, 13:57
Email: jason@udl.ul

We were out at sea in a 25-foot longtail boat which was going from the mainland to a secluded island when we saw the tsunami. We were about 1km (half a mile) from shore when the boat driver very quickly headed for a nearby bay. We had enough time to talk and had a solid plan for when we did hit the beach. It was a very close call and we made it to shore with only about 10 seconds to spare and headed to higher ground. It was a very surreal experience but I am thankful to say I have nothing more to show for it than just a few scratches.

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