Indonesian girl swept away by 2004 tsunami found alive

[Lite Beer]

After missing for seven years, tsunami victim finds way home

Meulaboh, Aceh, Dec 22 (ANTARA) - A 15-year-old girl who was considered lost in the tsunami that engulfed Aceh in December 2004 proves to be still alive and has found her way back to her home in Lr Sangkis, Ujong Baroh village, West Aceh.

Wati was eight years old when Ujong Baroh village was hit by the tsunami. Her mother, Yusniar, was trying to take her and her two siblings to a safe place but somehow she lost her grip on her mother`s arm and was carried away by the rushing waters, leaving her mother powerless to help her.

Yusniar was able to save her two other children but she and the rest of the family eventually had to resign themselves to the notion that Wati was lost as she never returned nor had anybody in the neigborhood seen her again dead or alive.

But on Wednesday, Ibrahim, Wati`s grandfather in Meulaboh city received an acquaintance at his home who was accompanied by a teenaged girl wearing a blue head scarf. The acquaintance said the girl had come to the Simpang Pelor coffee shop where she just sat in silence. People thought she was a beggar and tried to engage her in conversation.

She claimed she had come to Meulaboh by bus from Banda Aceh and was trying to find her way back home but did not know how. She also could not remember any of her parents` or relatives` names except Ibrahim.

After listening to the acquintance`s account, Ibrahim immediately sensed the girl could be his long lost grandchild and, after a closer look at the dark-skinned girl, was indeed convinced she was Wati who went missing in the tsunami seven years ago,

Ibrahim then sent word to Yusniar and her husband Yusuf to come to his home and meet Wati. The two parents confirmed Wati`s identity after recognizing a small mole and a scar over her eyebrow that Wati got when she was six years old.

What had happened to Wati after she was carried away by the tsunami currents was not immediately disclosed to reporters except that over the years she had been to places in other districts in Aceh province.

-- TNA 2011-12-22

[News_Editor]

Indonesian girl swept away by 2004 tsunami found alive

2011-12-22 19:07:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEULABOH, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- An Indonesian girl who was thought to have died when a huge tsunami devastated the island of Sumatra in December 2004, has been found alive and reunited with her parents, local media reported on Thursday.

Wati, who is now 15, went missing in December 2004 when a tsunami hit Ujong Baroh village in West Aceh Regency, which is located in Aceh province and was among the hardest-hit areas. The girl, 8 at the time, was being taken by her mother Yusniar to higher grounds along with her two siblings, but the girl was swept away by the rushing waters.

After searching for her missing child, Yusniar eventually gave up and accepted that her daughter had been killed by the tsunami. Both Yusniar and her other two children escaped the tsunami unharmed after they reached higher grounds.

But on Wednesday, Wati arrived at a coffee shop in Meulaboh, the capital of West Aceh, where she sat in silence. According to the Antara news agency, people initially thought the girl was a beggar but later explained that she had arrived from Banda Aceh in search of her home. However, she did not know how as she could not remember the names of her parents, although she knew her grandfather's name is Ibrahim.

A person at the coffee shop, who is an acquaintance of Ibrahim, heard her story and made an immediate connection to Wati. He went on to take her to Ibrahim, and her family was able to identify her by a small mole and scar above her eyebrow, which she got when she was six years old.

It was not immediately known what happened to Wati after she was washed away by the tsunami, Antara reported, but she reportedly wandered to different districts in the province of Aceh throughout the years. Her mental and physical condition were not immediately known.

On December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami, striking scores of countries in the region. In all, at least 227,898 people were killed.

Indonesia was the worst affected area with an estimated death toll of at least 170,000, although some estimates have put the death toll in Indonesia alone at as high as 220,000. Aceh was the hardest-hit region, and some areas are still struggling to recover.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-22

[GentlemanJim]

What an incredible story!

[maidu]

Amazing indeed. I hope she's ok, and wasn't abused.

[steve187]

All the best for the whole family, what a nice story to here close to a holiday period and so close the anniversary of that dreadful event.

[mallyrd]

Amazing indeed. I hope she's ok, and wasn't abused.

Why an earth do you want to introduce the "abused" angle!!!

[siam2007]

this topic already exists in TV

[ding]

Heartwarming. Her parents must be filled with life again.