Lucky to be alive (From Penarth Times)

Lucky to be alive

A PENARTH family spent two torturous days waiting to hear news about their son, fearing he had been swept away in the Asian tsunami.

Headteacher of Ashgrove School Brian Brayford knew Dominic, 27, was staying in a Sri Lankan beachside hotel when the wave hit on Boxing Day.

Mechanical engineer Dominic, who works for Penarth Industrial Services, had been on the island for a month when the disaster happened.

The boarding house he was staying in and one adjacent building were the only buildings left standing in the area.

His parents, who live on Sully Road, feared the worst when they didn't heard from their son after the tsunami hit.

Mr Brayford, his wife Therese (deputy head of St Helen's School, Barry) and sister Emma, 30, thought Dominic was dead.

His father said: "He had been woken by the screams and shouts of the local people as the wave approached. He managed to wedge himself behind the door of his room seconds before the wave struck and despite being swamped by its force, was completely uninjured.

"It was like we were living in a nightmare. Hikkadowa, where he was staying, was totally destroyed. More than 1,500 people lost their lives when a train was engulfed as it approached the town's station.

"We were so happy when he rang up because we had lost hope of hearing from him. He is staying on help the people rebuild their lives."

A Dinas Powys resident was also caught in the devastation. Karen Jones was with her partner Robert and her 16-year-old son Ashley in Phuket, Thailand, when the waves struck.

She said: "Our hotel was directly on the beach. We were awoken by shouting, screaming and roaring noises. We were on the third floor and people were panicking. At first we did not know what was happening, we just woke up in shock.

"Hotel staff were banging on our door and people were screaming. There was blood on the walls."

Trucks and cars were washed into the hotel.

She added: "We were lucky and managed to keep hold of our passports and credit cards." They flew out of Phuket Airport the next day. Ms Jones described the chaos as horrendous.