Tsunami Survivor Found After 25 Days

Newsday ^ | 1/23/05 SGT

[gopwinsin04]

Waving a flag made of his clothes, a tsunami victim dressed only in his underwear was rescued after surviving alone for 25 days on a flattened island in India's Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, authorities said on Saturday.

The tale of survival reached Port Blair, the capital and regions only city on Saturday as authorities slowly established normal communication links with faraway islands.

Michael Mangal was sucked into the seas when the first tsunami wave retreated, but an even bigger second wave dumped him back on shore.

He found that no one else survived from his village. Injured and desperate, he survived the next 25 days only on coconuts before being rescued.

The Nicobarese are the larest tribal group in the islands with about 30,000 members, accounting for about one-tenth of the archipelago's population.

[gopwinsin04]

The real life 'Castaway..'

[chaos_5]

Link is bad

[nuconvert]

Link says "Page not Found"

[ElkGroveDan]

I ahte it when people excerpt needlessly and then you get a bad link or a registration demand ARGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH.

Post the whole D*MN article!

[snarks_when_bored]

January 13, 2005, 4:21 AM EST

KLANG, Malaysia -- An Indonesian man who survived for 15 days at sea after last month's tsunami hopes to soon talk with his mother but faces the tragic possibility that his father and two siblings are dead.

Ari Afrizal, a construction worker, captured the attention of people around the world with his miraculous survival tale after being rescued from a Robinson Crusoe-style raft on Sunday by a container ship in the Indian Ocean.

Ari, 21, who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, told The Associated Press that he doesn't want to go back to his old construction job, where he was working when he was swept out to sea.

"I don't want to build houses. It brings back painful memories of the tsunami and the earthquake," he said.

Ari said he spoke by phone with an uncle who told him that his mother and two brothers are alive. But his father, sister and a third brother are feared dead.

"I feel relieved. My prayers are somewhat answered. I shall continue to pray for my father and siblings. I miss them, but I don't know yet when I can return," he said.

Ari was found floating on a partially enclosed raft after being swept into the sea by tsunami waves while working on a beach house in the Aceh Jaya district of Indonesia on Dec. 26.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Ari, a devout Muslim, recounted his ordeal and spoke of his will to live, surviving only on coconuts he found floating in the debris around him. He attributed his survival to prayer and fighting depression.

Ari and compatriot Rizal Shahputra, who survived for eight days in the sea before being similarly rescued, will be housed temporarily in an Indonesian Embassy official's home pending arrangements for travel to Aceh, embassy spokesman Budhi Rahardao said.

Meanwhile, the embassy will try and get Ari's mother to speak to him on the phone. "We will try our best but you must understand that all communication system has been broken," he said.

He said no decision could immediately be made about the wishes expressed by both men to eventually live and work in Malaysia. "We will do what is best for them," he said.

[snarks_when_bored]

Hmmm, that's an older story. Oh, well, ...

[boothead]

he survived the next 25 days only on coconuts

I remember a few years back where a man and woman were stranded on raft and they had nothing to eat and he survived off of her breast milk.

[snarks_when_bored]

Here's a link to the correct story (from the BBC):

India navy finds tsunami survivor

[cmsgop]

What did she drink ?

[boothead]

That's not the right question.

[Destro]

What did she drink ?

You don't want to know.

[mollynme]

Link

[banalblues]

That is good news.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Thank you God, ping.

[Ciexyz]

I enjoyed watching Tom Hanks' film "Castaway" once, and once only. It was such an intense experience, I couldn't bear to watch it again.

[Experiment 6-2-6]

It was such an intense experience, I couldn't bear to watch it again

Yeah, it sort of keeps things in perspective for me, as well...

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

WILSON!!!!!!!

[Ciexyz]

WILSON!!!

Yeah, Wilson was cool. I can't look at a volleyball without thinking of Wilson.

Wilson brings the term "buddy movie" to a whole new level.

[Shortstop7]

I am just amazed at some of the posts I read on here lately. They are disgusting, stupid and just plain ole' dumb.

I swear, it's beginning to look like "People Magazine" or something from the BBC around here.

jmho...

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from January 23, 2005 -- that terrible Indonesian quake / tsunami. I found it looking for something quite different, and thought at first this was about the Japanese survivor found days after this year's tsunami, floating out to sea. Thanks gopwinsin04.

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