♥ Friday, December 31, 2004 ♥
09:27
The Straits Times
Dec 31, 2004
Survivor drank his own urine
'WITH no other option, I drank my urine and licked my wounds to quench my thirst.'
These are the words of Mr Raj Ratnam, a resident of Car Nicobar island, part of India's isolated Andaman and Nicobar islands, who survived the killer tsunami waves that hit Asian shores on Sunday.
Mr Ratnam was having a cup of tea on Sunday morning when 12m-high waves tossed him up.
He clung to a tree-top and remained there for nearly three days, according to the Hindustan Times.
Once, he tried to climb down to look for water, but a huge python and the putrefying body of a woman caught in the still-wet mud kept him up on the tree.
Left with no other choice, he drank his own urine and licked the wounds he had suffered when he was battered by the tsunami.
'From the tree-top, I could see bodies scattered all over. They were stinking and I started vomiting,' he said.
Mr Ratnam's words painted a grim picture of the aftermath of the tsunami, highlighting the lack of proper drinking water and how this could lead to water-borne epidemics such as cholera and dysentery. - V.K. RAGHUNATHAN
_________________________
Please do your part to help.
