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A British boy of two is believed to have been swept to his death from his parents' arms in a South Pacific tsunami.
The child was on a Samoan beach with his mother and father when they were engulfed by a huge wave. The couple swam to safety but there was no sign of the boy. He is missing presumed dead, one of about 120 fatalities, among them an Australian girl of six.
A New Zealand diplomat said of the parents: “They are completely distressed and have not even informed their families back in Britain yet. They have a few injuries but they are not serious. They are in a state of shock.” At least 77 people were reported dead in Samoa, more than 30 in the US territory of American Samoa and at least 10 in neighbouring Tonga. The two Samoas and Tonga have a combined population of 400,000.
Four tsunamis were triggered when an 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck deep under the sea yesterday. An unconnected earthquake was said to have left thousands buried under rubble on Sumatra. The force of the waves that hit Samoa, which reached up to a mile in-shore, flattened entire villages, sent boats crashing ashore and pulled people and cars out to sea.
Thousands have been left homeless and the death toll is expected to rise with bodies said to have been buried under tons of sand. Dozens have been reported missing and hundreds injured.
In pictures: The devastation of the South Pacific tsunami
The British couple and their son are thought to have been on holiday on a resort near the village of Lalomanu on Samoa's main island of Upolu. Warnings had been issued and it is thought they were trying to escape to higher ground when the waves struck.
The mother and father are now staying at the New Zealand High Commission in Samoa and have been in contact with the British High Commission in New Zealand. Wendy Booth, owner of the Samoan resort Sea Breeze in Upolu, said she and her husband Chris were almost washed away. “The second wave hit and came up through the floor, pushed out the back door and threw us outside,” she told Fairfax Radio Network in Australia.
She said they survived by hanging on to each other and a handrail as parts of their resort disintegrated around them. “Our restaurant just floated out to sea complete, until it smashed up in the water,” said Mr Booth.
View Samoa in a larger map
Stephen Rogers, the British honorary consul, said Samoa had been shaken by the initial earthquake, with many buildings suffering structural damage, but the devastation caused by the tsunami was largely confined to the south-east.
He said he picked up five Britons, aged in their twenties and early thirties, from the area earlier today. They included three tourists, one who had been living in New Zealand with a British passport, one on a round-the-world trip, and another who had recently moved to the island, he said.
He said there were no other reports of any other British casualties in the disaster although there are believed to have been about 20 Britons on the island at the time. He said: “We have a number of British people who have lost all their possessions.”
The Australian government said two Australians, a six-year old girl and a woman aged 50, were killed and six others were missing. “It does look like there will be substantial loss of life in Samoa,” said Australia's aid minister Bob McMullan.
The Queen said she was “saddened” by the tragedy and sent messages of condolence to the royal family in Tonga and to the Samoan head of state.
Red Cross teams mobilised more than 100 emergency workers who began collecting coconuts to help feed casualties. President Obama declared a major disaster in American Samoa, releasing disaster aid funds, with a US C-130 military transport aircraft due to leave Honolulu.
Ausegalia Mulipola, assistant chief executive of Western Samoa's disaster management office, said: “They are still continuing the searches for any missing bodies in the area. Some areas have been flattened and the tsunami brought a lot of sand onshore, so there have been reports the sand has covered some of the bodies.” New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the Samoan village of Sau Sau Beach Fale had been flattened. “It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out,” he told a radio station. “There's not a building standing. There will be people in a great lot of need round here.”
In pictures: The devastation of the South Pacific tsunami
Reader views (9)
Having been to Western Samoa I was very sad to hear about this terrible tragedy. Samoa is a beautiful Island and the people are the most gracious and humble people. When I visited they were still recovering from a hurricane which had destroyed most of their crops which they relied on for their income, so for this to happen must be devestating. I fear that the lovely beach guest house we stayed in didnt survive.
- Helen F, Plumstead, London
Carl, Where can I see the letter from Millie Bannerjee - I am now intrigued!!
- Busby, London
Jock, London
To state that it's the result of nuclear testing makes me doubt you are a qualified physicist or a geologist. Perhaps you could clarify this?
Let’s see qualifications you say? Well-left school (bored stiff) aged 14 and a half. Started work in an R&D Laboratory for Gardeners Transformers. Next changed the base formula for Araldite Resin (added 33 to 35% resistance plus mirror shine) used to protect units used in the control systems for of Nuclear Submarines. This was early 1950’s heart of the cold War.
In 1995 Formulated control program for Worlds First, ‘Communications Platform High Capacity Super controller & system’. Download proof document here:
http://dorsetvisualguide.co.uk/images/agpcuk_pdf_files/com_data_bt.pdf
Lots more info for you on the web if you care to look Jock?
- Carl Barron, Christchurch, Dorset
Carl - Samoa lies fairly close to the faultline between the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. I would think natural movement of these plates, rather than some man-made event, has caused this.
To state that it's the result of nuclear testing makes me doubt you are a qualified physicist or a geologist. Perhaps you could clarify this?
- Jock, London
Carl - I think you have been watching too many movies.
The last French nuclear test in the area was in 1995.
Samoa and surrounding islands are on the ring of fire and have always been exposed to the risk of earthquake and tsunami's - the news of which rarely used to reach western agencies. There is now more exposure due to the Indian Ocean Tsunami's 4 years ago.
- Hansel, London
Paddy, London :
Earthquakes originate in the Earth's crust and mankind has no means of controlling them or affecting them. End of story.
As to your statement (Paddy), “the Earth's crust and mankind has no means of controlling them”. Any huge vibration especially ‘Underground Nuclear Explosions’ close to the Tectonic Plates can trigger movement, is fact.
- Carl Barron, Christchurch, Dorset
Tragic for those who have lost children, mothers, brothers, sisters....so many what if's
I wondered how long it would take for the nutcases with their own agendas to hijack this story with their own half baked ideas (Carl and MCW). Earthquakes originate in the Earth's crust and mankind has no means of controlling them or affecting them. End of story.
- Paddy, London
Very sad however tsunami are going to get increasingly likely as sea levels rise with the melting of the polar ice caps caused by global warming.
- Mcw, London
This may well be attributed to the nuclear underground tests that took place in this region during June 12, 1989 and before.
Despite pleas to halt the tests, the French Government continued their actions to detonate an arsenal of Atomic Underground Bombs. Plus Underground Nuclear Explosions by other Governments have continued in close proximity despite all that has happened.
The result was and I stated so at the time the explosions were being carried out, That we would now endure years of ‘Flash Floods Word wide’ as a direct result. Now the ‘Earth Quakes’ are resulting in massive tsunami waves due to loosening of the Tectonic Plates.
The reason that the flash floods increased were (in my calculation) that the areas ambient water temperatures are relatively high before the explosions. Hence the release of the vast amounts of heat generated by the underground nuclear explosions rises up and causes rapid evaporation on a vast scale for many, many years to come.
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
- Carl Barron, Christchurch, Dorset
