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January 23, 2005

Lone tsunami survivor found on island

Topics: Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

Every now and then we hear a story about one of our fellow participants in the human drama of life that draws us into it, and instead of just reading about it we can easily envision ourselves in that place, at that time, and as that person. Imagine a moment in a village with your family, one that you have lived in with your family all your life. Then without warning, you are sucked out to sea and terrified of drowning, worried about your family, not understanding what is happening to you, and struggling to stay alive. A little while later you find yourself washed back on the beach of your tiny island and all of your family and everyone that you have ever known, is gone - dead. This is the story of Michael Mangal, a tribesman In the Andaman and Nicobar islands, an archipelago 1200km from the Indian mainland.

-News.com.au
A LONE tsunami survivor has been rescued from a remote Indian island in a rare moment of hope in the Indian Ocean as nations pledged to try to stop such a disaster happening again.

In the Andaman and Nicobar islands, an archipelago 1200km from the Indian mainland, a military officer said a tribal man had been rescued.

He survived alone for nearly four weeks eating only coconuts.

Michael Mangal told rescuers the first giant wave sucked him out to sea before subsequent waves flung him back on the tiny island of Pillow Panja where he discovered everyone else from his village was gone.

He was rescued after the crew of a rescue dinghy saw him waving a flag made of his clothes.

It was one of the few pieces of good news in the Indian Ocean where as many as 225,000 died after a magnitude 9 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered the tsunami on December 26.    Continue reading...

Posted by Hyscience at January 23, 2005 8:47 PM

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