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Updated January 20th, 2022 at 16:53 IST

Tonga: Disabled man swept away in tsunami survives after staying afloat for 24 hours

It has been revealed that a Tongan man who was swept away by a tsunami managed to stay afloat for 24 hours before swimming to safety

Reported by: Aparna Shandilya
Tonga
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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It has been revealed that a Tongan man who was swept away by a tsunami managed to stay afloat for 24 hours before swimming to safety. It's one of the first accounts of survival since Saturday's catastrophic underground volcanic eruption followed by a tsunami, which shut off the connection between the island nation and the rest of the world by severing an underwater cable.

It comes after Tonga's first foreign assistance plane lands, bringing much-needed water and supplies to the Pacific nation. Lisala Folau, a retired crippled carpenter, told Tongan radio station Broadcom FM that he swam and floated from his island of Atata to Tongatapu's main island via two other uninhabited islands. Folau said he was painting his house on Saturday when the tsunami hit the island.

"My elder brother and a nephew came to my assistance, this time the wave has gone through our lounge, we moved to another part of the house when a bigger wave, this wave I would estimate was about not less than six metres, [arrived]. Bear in mind that I am disabled. I can’t walk properly … and when I can, I believe a baby can walk faster than I. We hid to the eastern side of the house, the waves were coming from the west so we escaped that wave," he narrated the incident.

'I kept my silence for if I answered him he would jump in and try to rescue me'

He claimed that he and his niece climbed a tree as his brother fled for help. They climbed down as the waves calmed down, but suddenly a huge wave slammed against them. He was swept out to sea with his niece around 7 p.m., having nothing to grasp onto. They were adrift at sea, only communicating with each other by screaming out to one another. They couldn't see each other because it was dark. Folau gradually stopped hearing his niece but could still hear his son. Folau said he made the difficult decision not to answer his son at the time.

“The truth is no son can abandon his father. But for me, as a father I kept my silence for if I answered him he would jump in and try to rescue me. But I understand the tough situation and I thought if the worst comes and it is only me,” he stated.

He claimed he made the decision because if he clung to a tree trunk, his family would be able to find his body if he perished. He was grounded to the east of Toketoke Island. On Sunday morning, he said he saw a police patrol boat heading to Atata island. He tried to flag it down but they did not see him. He then swam to the island of Polo’a, setting off at about 10 am and landing at around 6 pm on Sunday. Folau then stated that he concentrated on his next move. He was confident that he could go to Mui'i Sopu. 

On the main island of Tongatapu, Sopu is located on the western outskirts of the capital, Nuku'alofa. Folau said he staggered towards a house in Sopu around 9 pm, eventually arriving at the end of a tarred public road, where he was picked up by a passing vehicle and driven to the driver's home. Furthermore, Folau's son and the niece he was with at the time, are still missing. Three persons have been reported dead due tsunami, including Angela Glover, a British animal welfare worker. 

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP

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Published January 20th, 2022 at 16:53 IST

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