I saw two buildings coming at me & said ‘this is it’… Boxing Day tsunami survivors reveal terror of disaster 20 years on

“IS this it?” thought Rachel Hearson, trapped underneath a artifact of factual with seawater up to her head.

Only minutes earlier she was enjoying a vacation successful paradise, wandering done a Thai market connected the hunt for a postcard to nonstop home.

Now, she was holding her enactment for beloved beingness aft a devastating tsunami swept implicit the land, destroying everything successful its path 

It was triggered by an earthquake with a unit 23,000 times stronger than the Hiroshima bomb. 

The Boxing Day tsunami, arsenic it became known, struck the seashore of Indonesia, Thailand, and different nations astir the Indian Ocean.

It near much than 220,000 radical dead, making it the worst earthy catastrophe of the 21st period and the deadliest tsunami successful recorded history.

Among the dormant were 149 Brits.

Now, their relatives and those who miraculously survived person bravely shared their stories with The Sun up of a caller documentary marking the horrific catastrophe 20 years on.

This includes Louis and Theo, who were 16 and 11 astatine the clip and forced to cheque hospitals each hr successful a hunt for their parents Leonard Barratt, 50, and Catherine Mullan, 53, who were some tragically killed.

Hundreds much were injured, including Paul Murray and his girlfriend, Sally, who received injuries truthful terrible they were compared to a "shark attack".

Coastal towns and villages from Thailand to Sri Lanka were swamped by a question up to 100 metres precocious that destroyed everything successful its path. 

Many of the towns and villages never recovered - portion survivors person been wracked with carnal and intelligence trauma successful the 2 decades since.

Concrete coffin

Rachel and her hubby CiCi were staying connected the land of Koh Phi Phi erstwhile they archetypal felt shaking that morning.

But being faint, they thought thing of it. Two hours later, and they’d headed down to the marketplace - similar immoderate different mean day.

Then they noticed thing was up. People were screaming, and moving from the beach, but Rachel and her hubby had nary thought why.

“There was this existent consciousness of panic,” Rachel, who was 41 astatine the time, tells The Sun.

And past successful a divided second, everything changed.

“All of a sudden, I conscionable became alert of this h2o coming up. I conscionable thought it was a freak wave,” she said.

“I stood connected a small fence, and wrong seconds the h2o was up to my neck."

Her hubby had grabbed connected to a histrion arsenic the surge of water rushed through, sweeping up everything successful its path.

They tried to clasp connected - but it was excessively late.

Struggling to support her caput supra the water, Rachel witnessed a genuinely apocalyptic show earlier she disappeared beneath the wave.

She said: "The past happening I saw earlier I went underwater was 2 buildings coming towards me. The unit of the h2o from the different broadside of the land had taken these buildings with them.

“I went underwater and past determination was thing incredibly dense connected my head. I tried to dislodge it, but it was excessively heavy. It felt similar a artifact of concrete.

“I thought, this is it - I can’t breath.

“Suddenly everything went dark, and I thought, this is the end. What happens? Will my household ever find retired what happened to me?”

Having learned to dive, Rachel was skilled astatine holding her breath, which nary uncertainty saved her beingness - but she was moving retired of time.

Fortunately, thing dislodged and she was capable to entree a pouch of air.

“The adjacent happening I knew, I was spat retired to sea,” she said. 

“Weirdly, it was precise calm, but determination was conscionable debris each astir me.”

A tiny sportfishing vessel threw her a rope, and she climbed aboard. 

The vessel took her retired further, to a pleasance trade that was unaware of the disaster that had conscionable unfolded.

Huddled up successful a towel, covered successful cuts and bruises, she stayed aboard for hours - though by this constituent she had mislaid each consciousness of time.

All she knew was that she had to get backmost to the island, to find her husband.

The skipper said it was excessively unsafe - but yet helium relented.

“As I approached the island, I could spot it was wholly devastated, debris everywhere. Like a catastrophe scene," she said.

“I had nary shoes - conscionable had to benignant of marque my mode crossed this debris, crisp glass, bricks, stone, wood, each poking out.

“I could spot that determination were bodies covered implicit with sarongs. I didn't look excessively closely, due to the fact that I was excessively frightened of what I'd spot - and I was excessively frightened that I was going to spot CiCi.”

Heroic rescue

Rachel yet made her mode backmost to the edifice wherever they had been staying. 

As if by a miracle, determination was CiCi - not lone alive, but helping retired with the rescue operation. 

“Don’t permission my side,” helium told Rachel. “I’ve got enactment to do.”

Rachel said: “My instinct was to get disconnected the land - I was terrified.

“I'd been traumatised, astir drowned. But determination was nary mode I was going to permission his side.”

For the adjacent fewer hours, the mates helped the survivors: holding hands with the traumatised, handing retired water, and looking aft those who needed assistance until the helicopters arrived.

She said: “My reflections of that clip were, you know, benignant of rather blurred. I retrieve being conscionable truthful frightened, but inactive determined to enactment determination and effort and bash immoderate good.

“There were truthful galore radical benignant of milling astir astatine the time, radical saying they'd mislaid loved ones. 

“Have you seen my sister? Have you seen my daughter? Nobody knew what was going on.”

As the time went on, Rachel felt the land instrumentality connected an deathly stillness. 

“I retrieve determination being a afloat satellite walking astir the land and conscionable seeing this scene of devastation everywhere. 

“I'll ne'er hide that successful a mode - it was specified an eerie feeling.”

Twenty years on, Rachel and CiCi are acceptable to observe their 22nd anniversary.

Inspired by the assistance they were capable to springiness connected the day, Rachel, who had antecedently worked successful fashion, took up a vocation successful the foundation sector.

“I'm arrogant of what I did connected the day, which makes it easier to archer our story.

“And the information that I tin clasp my caput up precocious and say, you know, we stayed connected the land that time helping people.

“It's benignant of locked successful a small container successful my mind. It's there, it's a memory. But I'm arrogant of my reaction.

“This is my mode of giving backmost due to the fact that it wasn't my clip then. It could truthful easy person been my time, but really the clip that we person connected this world is precious.”

Rachel and CiCi were 1 of astir 10,000 Brits affected by the unspeakable calamity of that day.

Survivor's guilt

Paul Murray and his woman Sally had headed to Thailand with 2 different couples connected what should person been a joyful Christmas escape.

For 18 years, helium hasn’t spoken to anyone astir what really happened connected Christmas Day 2004 - and this is the archetypal clip he’s spoken publicly.

The mates and 1 of their friends had been lounging by the excavation erstwhile the question was preparing to deed the island. 

Paul told his girlfriend, present wife, and their pal to tally arsenic helium saw 2 travellers frozen successful fearfulness and rushed to assistance successful a bid to get them to precocious ground. 

“Looking backmost now, I don’t cognize if I’d person gone to assistance those 2 radical if I’d realised Sally hadn’t tally similar I told her,” helium tells us. 

“Perhaps if I’d helped her she wouldn’t person a people connected her. She wouldn’t person had 15 years going successful and retired of hospital, oregon panic attacks. But you ne'er know.”

Sally suffered devastating injuries, which were described arsenic not dissimilar to a shark attack, to her abdomen and ankle.

It was moving to prevention the strangers that placed Paul successful the way of the water, starring him to beryllium swept into the hotel’s events hall, battling against the currents and furnishings to find a spot to survive. 

“I struggled a batch with survivor's guilt,” helium told The Sun.

“I consciousness similar I’m stuck successful a Catch 22, due to the fact that I’d person gladly fixed up my beingness for immoderate of the kids who died, particularly earlier Sally got pregnant. Now I don’t privation to permission my son. 

“But I’d already had 32 years connected the satellite having the champion clip and they’d had nary beingness astatine all. I retrieve stepping implicit the bodies of kids who died there.

“I inactive conflict with the information that I survived adjacent now.”

The events hallway Paul recovered himself trapped successful looked similar a emblematic schoolhouse hallway with a signifier and treble doors astatine each end. 

The unit of the tsunami had caused the chairs to enactment similar a sieve astatine the exit side, blocking him from getting out. 

But earlier helium was capable to leave, a 2nd question hit, forcing him to ascent towards the ceiling truthful helium could survive. 

“The h2o was coming up and up,” helium said. 

“I knew the higher I was, the little clip I’d person to clasp my breath. The h2o came up and I wasn’t acold disconnected from having to instrumentality that enactment earlier it started to stop. 

“I’ve ne'er climbed down thing truthful quickly.”

Lucky escape

While trapped successful the events hallway with different survivor, a earnestly injured young pistillate appeared arsenic well.

Paul recalled: “The beforehand of her close thigh had peeled disconnected and was hanging successful beforehand of the bottommost portion of her leg, truthful you could spot a femur.

“At this constituent I was successful conscionable a vest, but I took it disconnected and flopped the musculus backmost up and tied it successful spot with my shirt. 

“She didn’t talk English, but I indicated she needed to get higher earlier different question hit.

“Then my adjacent precedence was trying to find Sally, which is what I did moving astir bare shouting for her.”

Thankfully, the mates were reunited erstwhile helium recovered her connected a tuna vessel which was serving arsenic a makeshift hospital. 

Sally spent 5 years undergoing galore operations successful infirmary to repair the injuries she suffered.

A ample shard of solid had lodged successful her stomach, and the backmost of her thigh looked similar it had been attacked by a shark portion her ft was hanging off. 

“I’ve struggled with the decisions I made that time due to the fact that Sally was wounded truthful severely and could person rather easy died,” helium said done tears. 

“I deliberation she would person done if we hadn’t got disconnected that island.”

Family devastation

Louis Mullan was 16 when, portion connected the formation successful Takua Pa adjacent Phuket with his family, the oversea retreated from the enactment - a informing motion of what was to come.

“Our dada came implicit to wherever we were to archer america determination was thing happening, and to travel and person a look,” helium tells us.

“We went to the waterfront and saw immoderate locals and tourists conscionable looking funny and confused astatine wherefore the h2o had retreated truthful acold back.”

He concisely returned to fastener his edifice country - but by the clip he’d made it back, the ambiance had turned turned to panic.

“Everyone was moving the different direction, truthful we joined the rush. But aft a fewer minutes, the h2o caught up with america and knocked america disconnected our feet.”

Louis was caught up successful the dense tide, and separated from the remainder of his family. 

“The feeling was implicit disorder - nary 1 had experienced this before. No 1 was expecting it. No 1 truly understood what was going on," helium said.

“I retrieve seeing whilst I was successful the water... a waitress that was astatine our hotel, who I deliberation had served america meal that morning. We were some conscionable distressed and confused.”

Despite being swept away, Louis was capable to reunite with his younger member Theo, who was 11 astatine the time.

But their parents were obscurity to beryllium found. 

Amid the disorder and devastation, Louis and his member had nary thought if they were harmless oregon if they would ever spot them again.

“The contiguous mates of days aft we were successful the hospital, Theo and I had a small room," helium said.

“I’d locomotion the infirmary each hr - each corridor, ward, and country to spot if our parents were there.

“But arsenic the days spell connected and you benignant of realise the magnitude of the event, and the devastation that it caused.

“You inactive person hope, but past world dawns.”

After losing some their parents, Louis and his member were aboriginal adopted by a household successful Cornwall.

National Geographic’s caller documentary series, Tsunami: Race Against Time, airs November 25 connected Disney+