Tsunami & After

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IAF rescues 90 victims from Andaman

     Chennai: The Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel today rescued as many as 90 tsunami victims from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and brought them to Chennai. The rescued people were brought in a special plane to the Air Force base, and would be later shifted to a relief camp in the city. Though relieved of being alive, they are still scared to even think about the incident, which changed their lives forever. Stella, a victim, recounting her experience said she prayed throughout her three-day stay to be safe. "After seeing water we started running. There was water all around us. We had not seen so much water. We went to top and stayed there for three days," said Stella, sitting in a hangar, which has now been turned into an shelter camp for many of the rescued people. SK Biswas, another rescued man, unable to hold his tears said he lost everything.

     "We have lost everything. All my friends have died," said Biswas. According to rough estimates, nearly half of the population residing in Andaman and Nicobar Islands before the tsunami hit the isles has gone missing. Only about three dozen of the more than 550 islands in the group, a strategic military zone, are inhabited. Several are home to primitive tribes including some who subsist on hunting with spears, bows and arrows and on fishing and gathering fruit and roots. The fate of many of the tribals is unknown.
- Jan 2, 2005

Kate Moss cancels holiday in Thailand (Go To Top)

     London: Supermodel Kate Moss is also reportedly one of the many foreign tourists who had to cancel their trip to South East Asia, after the Indian Ocean tsunami wrecked havoc in the region. According to The Sun, Moss was making last-minute preparations to travel to Thailand when the tsunami struck. She immediately cancelled plans for her New Year holiday in Phuket and has been upset by the tragedy in a part of the world she loves.
- Jan 1, 2005

Seven members of a family escape tragedy, return to Goa (Go To Top)

      Bambolim (Goa): A family from Goa is among the lucky survivors of the deadly tsunami waves that killed and rendered millions homeless across Asia and Africa. The seven members of a Christian family were in a famous church in Tamil Nadu for Christmas when the killer waves struck throwing them off to sea. Safe at her home in Bambolim village now, Jayanciana Collasso, one of the survivors, said she clinged to a wall and saved her life. "We were coming towards the hotel and on the way I saw water coming. I told my aunty that water is coming in the front. We tried to jump that side we saw a building and there was a big wall so we jumped to it," she said. Collasso said that when the waves crashed, they just raced ahead and managed to beat the chasing water. The tsunami, triggered by a massive undersea earthquake off nearby Indonesia, killed almost 87,000 people across the Indian Ocean coastline from Thailand to Africa.
-Dec 31, 2004

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