Wednesday, 24th December 2014
Shenth Ravindra was travelling on a train in Sri Lanka when a "wall of water" smashed into the carriages on Boxing Day 2004.
Londoner Shenth Ravindra was travelling by train to the Sri Lankan party town of Hikkadowa on 26 December 2004 when it was swept away by the Boxing Day tsunami.
There were at least 1,500 passengers on the Galle Express and Shenth was one of the few to survive.
He remembers being irritated because the train had stopped for no obvious reason.
"Suddenly I heard people screaming and running away from where the sea would be, towards the train - next thing I heard a massive swoosh of water and I can see this shelf of water coming in from the ocean," Mr Ravindra said.
The first wave detached the carriage that he was travelling in.
The waves smashed into the train after it stopped near Galle
"The water was rising inside the train, so I climbed out through the door onto the side of the carriage and sat on the roof," he said.
"It wasn't like the iconic view you see of a tsunami, it was like a shelf of water. I'd never even heard of a tsunami before so it didn't even register that this was something as devastating as it turned out to be. It was just surreal."
Astonishingly, Mr Ravindra remained calm enough while he was sitting on the roof to take photographs - until the second wave hit.
"The second wave was a far more threatening wave - like a wall of water hurtling towards us. I could see the wave taking out the other carriages."
It was the second wave that killed most of the victims.
"I think a lot of those people were trapped in the train - and sitting on the track - they all drowned. The other carriages were being tossed around in the water and I could see dead bodies floating around in the water."
When the water went down again Mr Ravindra decided he should try to get to higher ground.
"There was a lot of debris - the water was about waist deep and there was a lot of debris floating round in the water - a lot of corpses - which I had to move out of the way to get further inland,' he said.
Mr Ravindra had lost his flip flops, so he had to wade barefoot through the water.
"I stepped on something and lacerated my foot down to the bone, but the adrenaline had kicked in and I wasn't really feeling the pain.," he said.
He finally made his way to a farmhouse where he stayed for two days until the roads were cleared and he was able to get back to his family in Colombo. It was only when he saw the news on television that he realised how lucky he was to have survived.
About 36,000 died in Sri Lanka on that day.
Mr Ravindra planned to return to celebrate Christmas there this year.
"From my own personal point of view it's really important to go back on the tenth anniversary - and remember what happened," he said.
"People shouldn't forget what happened 10 years ago because it was a monumental event."
:: A special documentary Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave is available on Sky Catch Up.
:: If you have been affected by any of the issues in Tsunami: 10 Years After The Wave, the following helplines can offer help and support:
Samaritans - anyone struggling to cope can talk to Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90
Mind - for mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress call the confidential information and support line on 0300 123 3393 (charged as a local rate call) open from 9am - 6pm Monday - Friday
Cruse Bereavement Care - promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables people to understand grief and cope with their loss - national helpline on 08444 779 400
From : http://news.sky.com/story/1393164/tsunami-survivor-pushed-away-bodies-to-escape
