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January 05, 2005

Tsunami Victim Clinged To Tree For His Life

He survived for eight days:

The tree was a lifeline from God.
A 20-year-old Indonesian tsunami victim miraculously survived eight days in the ocean by clinging to the branches of an uprooted tree, he said yesterday after his rescue.

Rizal Sahputra was plucked from the ocean by a Malaysian cargo ship Monday night, 100 miles offshore from his village on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

The U.S. military is set to send more helicopters and ships for the relief effort.

Rizal said his ordeal began on land, as he helped build a mosque in the Aceh province on Dec. 26 — the fateful day a magnitude-9 earthquake sent a 60-foot death wave smashing into his village, killing his parents, sister and grandmother.

"There was a violent tremor and suddenly, huge waves came crashing at us," he said in an interview via satellite phone from the ship yesterday.

"The waves were at least 60 feet high and I was swept away, moving up and down together with the sea. Many died instantly."

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Posted at 11:53 AM Pacific