The man behind a viral video posted of the deadly 2004 tsunami has addressed concerns about his group’s well-being
The man who unknowingly filmed the first waves of the lethal 2004 Boxing Day tsunami has spoken out following some concern from viewers.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is known as the single most devastating natural disaster in the 21st century, affecting numerous countries across South East Asia, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand being the worst affected by the tragedy.
Waves reached up to 100ft (30.5m) in height, killing over 227,000 people and becoming the deadliest tsunami in human history, causing long-term problems for the countries hit.
However, prior to the vicious waves hitting the shore, beaches facing the Indian ocean were full of travelling tourists taking in the scorching sun during the festive period, with one group that were documenting their holiday in Koh Ngai, Thailand, capturing something historic completely by accident:
On Boxing Day morning, people in the Southeast Asian region were oblivious of a 9.1 magnitude earthquake that took place at 7:59am and the devastation that was about to be caused by it.
In the viral video, which was uploaded in 2013 and has accumulated over 12.5 million views on YouTube, the group can be heard talking about the ‘paradise island’ they were staying on that wasn’t too far from the peninsula of the mainland, and how they were planning to go caving that day.
British cameraman Julian Hadden was responsible for capturing everything, as the group explained they didn’t go on the excursion due to the weather, and they were told that there was a ‘big issue, don’t go’.
But even then, they seemed relaxed as they had no idea about what was to come.
The tide then violently crashed into the part of the beach they were on, as they made their way up the coast as Hadden notices the waves, saying: “That was a big one! Look at that boat.”
The video reveals how quickly things escalated (YouTube/@JulianHadden1)
Someone is also heard shouting to the boat to ‘abandon ship’, but the question lingers about Julian and his group – were they all okay afterwards?
He took to the description of the viral video since posting it, explaining: “In response to the many questions – all of us featured in this video are still alive.
“We were on the landward side of the island of Koh Ngai, Thailand, so didn’t get a direct hit – rather the wave as it washed around the island.”
He also provided the coordinates they were at, which were 7.403820098940225, 99.21574213373444, if you were interested, as Julian noted that ‘you can see the pier in the background’.
So luckily, everyone was safe, though many other people can be seen frantically collecting their belongings before heading towards land.
However, not everyone was like Julian and his friends, as a lot of unsuspecting at beaches that day were not as fortunate.
The city of Banda Aceh in Indonesia was the worst hit with the tsunami killing around over 61 000 people, almost 25 percent of its population at the time. The Phang Nga province, where the tourist resort town of Khao Lak is located, was the heaviest hit area in Thailand.A total of 227,899 were killed in the tsunami, with roughly 400 bodies remaining unclaimed as of 2019.
