Posted on 01/09/2005 2:01:55 PM PST by ncoaster
HONG KONG -- A Hong Kong-based Briton survived the deadly tsunami that devastated Thailand's coastlines by abandoning a pregnant woman clinging to him and later smashing his knee cap when his leg was trapped underwater, a Hong Kong newspaper reported today. Scotsman Andrew Keith, 35, was swept away by waves that inundated the Thai resort island Phra Thong and found himself weighed down by a pregnant Swedish woman who wrapped her arms around him, the South China Morning Post reported.
"It was like being in a washing machine. We were being tumbled over and over under the water."
"As the pressure of the water got more intense, her grip just kept getting tighter and tighter," Keith told the Post after returning to Hong Kong.
Keith then pried her hands off and floated to the surface, the report said.
He said he's still haunted by the decision. "I still can't really think about what happened. For the first couple of days, it played very heavily on my mind."
"But there wasn't anything I could do," he told the Post.
The woman, identified as Thisbee Ander, and her husband, Thomas, were later found dead, the Post reported.
After prying himself free of Ander, Keith faced a second hurdle - his left leg was caught among roots in a swamp three metres underwater, the report said.
Keith kicked the trapped leg free with his right leg, smashing his kneecap in the process.
"I didn't feel any pain. I was just determined not to die."
"I thought to myself: 'I'm not going to die in a bloody mangrove swamp,' " Keith was quoted saying.
He made the right decision.
life
I wonder why he chose to tell this story.
Well it certainly wasn't to make himself look good.
I'm guessing he just can't help talking about it.
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