Quake, waves kill thousands

By Rafael D. Frankel

BANGKOK, Dec. 27—Three successive waves—each bigger than the last—slammed into the beaches, resorts and shopping centers of Thailand’s Southwestern coast yesterday morning, as white-sand beaches packed with holiday season tourists were turned into scenes of carnage and mayhem.

Overall, at least 392 people were killed and over 5,000 were injured across Thailand’s Andaman islands and coast when tidal waves the likes of which have never before been seen here hit six provinces, government officials said. The death toll will likely rise further with at least hundreds if not thousands still missing, including many who were on ferry boats shuttling between Thailand’s myriad of tropical islands.

Phuket island, Thailand’s most popular island getaway, was the scene of much of the death and destruction as the tsunami swept away sunbathers to sea and completely submerged entire hotel blocks, according to eye witnesses.

“All of a sudden I just heard screaming and explosions and I saw water washing up between hotels, cars being thrown into lobbies, underground shopping centers being filled with water with people underneath,” said Conrad Dzwonkieiwcz, an American tourist who was on Phuket’s popular Patong beach.

“People were getting hit by debris, cars, trapped against buildings. I saw one person that just disappeared into the water,” Dzwonkieiwcz said, adding he was about 100 meters off the beach. “When the water washed up the sunbathers were overcome by it. At least a dozen were washed into the sea.”

According to the foreign ministry, 130 were killed and nearly 700 were injured in Phuket while still 214 people were missing.

“It was total chaos. Boats were ripping into one another and being ripped apart—just total carnage,” said Jeff Hoch, an American who lives on the beach in Phuket. There were three rip tides about 3 meters up from typical sea level just rushing in and out. There were Catamarans split in half, there were anchors popping up from the water.”

Around half of all those confirmed killed here appeared to be in Phang Nga bay north of Phuket, an area renown for its diving, where at least 181 people died. That was the highest death toll for any district and it could rise much further still as government officials said there are still hundreds unaccounted for.

Many of the bodies in Phang Nga, including at least a dozen foreigners, were taken from the beach to a local pagoda (temple), the Associated Press reported member of parliament Jurit Laksanawisi saying.

The timing of the tidal wave was both fortunate and not. The time between Christmas and New Year’s is peak tourist season in Thailand, a country which saw 12 million tourists come last year alone in part to visit its picturesque white sand beaches strewn with palm trees.

But the waves, which witnesses measured at between 3 and 5 meters tall, struck around 9:30 in the morning local time, and beaches that later in the day would have had thousands of people sunbathing on their sands had only a few hundred, Dzwonkieiwcz said.

Still, the damage to Thailand’s Southwestern coast on the Andaman sea was extensive. The larger of the twin Koh Phi Phi islands, made famous as the set for the filming of “The Beach” staring Leonardo DiCaprio, was totally devastated.

Pictures taken from helicopters of the island showed utter destruction with resorts, shops, and bars flattened. At least 200 bungalows at two popular resorts were washed to sea, Chan Marongtaechar, the owner of the PP Princess Resort and PP Charlie Beach Resort who was in Bangkok, said his staff reported to him.

The number of dead on Phi Phi alone according to various accounts of they scene there (not included in overall dead count) was estimated at 200. One helicopter pilot who was evacuating survivors from the island said bodies were strewn across the white sand beaches, which just hours before were covered with sunbathers enjoying a beautiful morning after Christmas. Some of those he was racing to the mainland died en route.

“The whole island is gone,” Apinan Thanyapreedakun said. “There were only two buildings left standing.” He added that 90 percent of the boats on the island were destroyed.

Rescue helicopters were working through last night and this morning to evacuate those in need of urgent care from Koh Phi Phi, which sits 45 minutes off the mainland. Officials said 4,000 tourists were stranded there and 10,000 were stranded on Phuket.

As of this morning, the Thai navy was still conducting relief operations all around the Andaman coast and islands using sea ships and helicopters. They were bringing food to survivors and evacuating those believed to be in danger of further waves which could result from aftershocks of the earthquake.

Waves of varying height hit six southern provinces here, killing fisherman and divers, as well as residents who live along the coast. Rescue teams fanned out across those areas last night and this morning searching for survivors among Thailand’s myriad of picturesque islands in the Andaman sea. Authorities also sent helicopters searching for divers around the Andaman coast, where jagged lime stone rocks shoot out of warm turquoise waters replete with brightly colored fish and coral.

Most of the damage to life and property occurred on those islands, Government Spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said. “Unfortunately, many foreigners and expatriates lost their lives because it’s Christmas and there are so many here right now.” Getting a firm count on how many were killed will be “very hard to know because there could be many people are on more obscure islands,” he said.

It was unknown how many of the dead across Thailand were foreigners though Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Kiattikhun Chartpraserp said “there were a lot of Scandinavians killed.” (Thailand is a particularly popular destination for people from northern Europe who come here to escape the winters.)

Embassies around Bangkok were working in high gear the day after Christmas and again today trying to assess how many of their nationals were injured or killed in the disaster. Given the level of destruction and Thailand’s global popularity as a tourist venue, it is likely casualties were suffered from many countries.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said they had no specific information about how many Americans were killed or injured, but that she was “sure there were some.” Consular officials were on there way down to Phuket this morning to assess the situation, she said.

In one bit of good news, rescue workers saved 70-80 people who were out at sea visiting the famed Emerald Cave off the island of Koh Muk. The snorkelers became trapped as they navigated the five-minute swim through a dark marine cave which opens up to a fully enclosed lagoon. Two people were killed when the waves hit and the others were thrown into the lagoon where they were trapped for at least five hours, officials said.

Heavy damage was reported in Krabi Province, another popular tourist destination just south of Phuket known for its rock climbing. At least 45 people were killed there.

Power was out on Phuket last night as were land-fixed telephone lines. This morning, mobile phone networks were still jammed all over the country, making communication with anyone on the islands difficult.

“Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in an address to the nation last night. He is now in Phuket.

The Thai-American son of Princess Ubolrat, Poom Jensen, was among the missing. He disappeared while jet skiing off Phang Nga Island, the Associated Press reported.

© 2004 Rafael D. Frankel and The Chicago Tribune