Divers in the Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia have been returning with stories of surviving the devastating tsunami wave.
Two Australian divers described being flung about while on an 18m dive in the Maldives. The pair were pushed backwards and forwards at about 5 knots by the huge wall of water, before being sucked downwards by more than 10m.
Greg and Deirdre Stegman, both experienced divers, were part of an international group diving from Faru when the tsuami hit. Everybody managed to survive.
Mark Reynolds, originally from Eastbourne, was running a dive from his Koh Samui-based dive school off the coast of Thailand when the wave struck. Fortunately he was diving on the sheltered side of the island, but one diver from the group of three was swept away and has not been found.
Divers and guides who were on boats at the time the tsunami struck were actively involved in the rescue operation at Phuket.
People diving off Phi Phi Island, south of Phuket described how the visibility suddenly dropped from 25m to just 2m. Unaware of what was happening, many divers continued with their dives, and found devastating scenes awaiting them on their return.
Hong Kong-based British diver Al Howard was on a diving trip on the Indonesian island of Pulau Weh, close to the epicentre of the earthquake that caused the giant wave. He was due to dive at the Lumba Lumba Dive Centre, and was staying in a bungalow 15m above the beach when the tsunami struck at 8am.
Fortunately the series of waves did not reach far enough up the beach to demolish the bungalow, but everything below it was destroyed. Howard had to hire a fishing boat to make the journey back to mainland Sumatra, finding himself in the middle of a scene of disaster.
After walking for miles, he managed to hitch a lift to Banda Aceh airport and catch a Garuda airlines plane to Sumatra’s main international airport of Medan, and from there, fly home to Hong Kong.
As many of the places most badly damaged by the tsunami are diving destinations, dive centres and organisations around the world are participating in raising money for relief operations. For example, dive guides at the Reef 2000 dive centre in Dahab donated a days takings to the relief fund and have been encouraging others to do the same.
Tsunami disaster – how to donate
The Disasters Emergency Committee
