Tsunami survivors find religious personnel source of consolation

Published: 2005-01-03

KRABI, Thailand (CNS) -- On Thailand's southwestern coast, tsunami survivors, traumatized and shocked by the devastation and loss of their loved ones, poured out their grief to religious personnel. Construction worker Chaisin Ngodpho-oad told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, that he found his wife's corpse Dec. 30, four days after tsunamis hit 12 countries in Asia and Africa. Survivors told of losing family members, and some told of a woman's baby being trampled to death. Chaisin was one of the survivors from Phi Phi Island, a popular tourist destination in southern Thailand. Following the tsunamis he was evacuated to Krabi, about 25 miles northeast of the island and 400 miles southwest of Bangkok. The huge waves caused deaths in Krabi, Phangnga, Phuket, Ranong, Satun and Trang provinces. "Although I had wounds all over my body, I did not feel the pain because the loss of my wife hurt so much," Chaisin said.

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