Family relives tsunami horror

2005-03-31 08:45

Magda Martins

Johannesburg - A father and his sons' second journey to Phuket Island, Thailand, nearly ended in tragedy again.

Ian Coetzee, 35, of Poortview on the West Rand wanted to return to Phuket to come to grips with the death of his wife, Daphne, on the island after the tsunami had struck on December 26.

Coetzee and his two sons, Dean, 12, and Michael, 9, returned to Phuket during he school holidays to place flowers on the beach in memory of Daphne, and to have another look at place where she had died.

While sitting in the lounge of a hotel near the beach on Monday, they suddenly heard people screaming and getting away in a great hurry.

There was chaos and panic, he said. "People were confused and didn't know what was happening. We expected another wave."

He and his sons fled - for the second time. "The memory of the tsunami came to life again. It was very bad for my sons and they were frantic."

But this time, there was no water, only the fear of what could have happened again.

Monday's earthquake measured 8.7 on the Richter scale.

"After a while calm returned, but my sons and I caught the first flight to Bangkok."

Emotionally exhausted

Neither of them was injured, but his sons were emotionally exhausted, he said. "They had to relive it all."

The Coetzee family were in Phuket when the tsunami struck on Boxing Day last year. He was able to help his sons get onto a roof, but his wife remained behind and held onto a tree.

He searched for his wife after the water had subsided. They found her body only a day later.

Coetzee was still on an island near Thailand on Wednesday, but was planning to return home as soon as possible. "Life has returned to normal on the island. We even went on a ski-boat trip after the scare," he said.

He said it was most important that they had made peace with Daphne's death. "Now we can get on with our lives." For him, the most important thing is that they all find peace. ''Now we can move forward.''

Coetzee's sister-in-law, Sonja Reynders, said she couldn't believe that they had to go through the experience for a second time. "I don't understand why, but hopefully there is a reason for it.."

- Beeld