Injured survivors back in SA
2005-01-02 11:01
Johannesburg - Six injured South African survivors of the tsunami in Thailand arrived at Lanseria airport on board a rescue flight from Bangkok on Saturday night.
Medical director of International SOS South Africa, Dr Izak Maree, told Sapa on Sunday one survivor was critically injured, while the other five were in a serious condition.
"They suffered multiple large lacerations, bruises and fractures and were taken to hospitals in Johannesburg and Pretoria," Maree said.
Families, ER 24, four ambulances and a Star helicopter were on hand to receive the survivors of the earthquake and tidal wave which killed thousands of people in South Asia and some in Africa last Sunday.
Maree was not able to name the survivors but said most of them were in their twenties and thirties. There were no children among them. He said five of the six holiday makers were from Gauteng.
The tsunamis were set off a week ago by a massive earthquake west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale. They have left about 125 000 people dead along the Indian Ocean shorelines.
Sixteen South Africans are still missing, 14 of them in Thailand and two in India.
Meanwhile, SABC news reported that two of the many South Africans who escaped the deadly tsunamis returned home on Saturday.
David Staniforth and his fianc&e´e Julie Onody from Durban were two of the survivors who dodged the huge waves on Raily island in Thailand.
Staniforth, the goalkeeper of the national hockey team, has been hailed as a hero for helping to get people to higher ground when the wave hit the island. He said he reacted instinctively and started helping other people.
The Strydom couple, Kallie and Monique - once victims of a hostage drama in the Philippines - have also pledged their support towards victims of the South Asian disaster.
The two were kidnapped and held for four months in a jungle in the Philippines by a group of Muslim extremists while on holiday four years ago.
On Saturday, the couple visited the Disaster Operational Call Centre in Pretoria to show their gratitude to the people who helped to secure their release, SABC reported.
- SAPA