A two year-old British boy who was swept out to sea as he played on a beach in Samoa was among the victims of a tsunami that ripped through the South Pacific Islands, killing more than 100 people.
By By Nick Britten and Bonnie Malkin
People walk among a scene of devastation following a powerful quake in Pago Pago village on American Samoa Photo: AP
The toddler was on the beach along with his parents when a huge wave struck and pulled them out to sea. The boy’s mother and father managed to swim ashore to raise the alarm but there was no sign of the boy.
The Foreign Office said he was “missing, presumed dead”.
Huge waves battered Samoa and American Samoa, triggered by an 8.0 magnitude underwater earthquake, at dawn on Tuesday.
Residents said they had little or no warning before a giant wall of water up to 20ft high smashed into their homes, flattening buildings, villages and washing cars into the sea. Some said the first wave hit within 10 minutes of the earthquake.
As huge international rescue and aid mission also swung into operation, the Queen and Prime Minster sent personal messages of condolence.
The death toll included at least 77 in Samoa, 25 in American Samoa and six in Tonga and is expected to rise sharply over the coming days. Three Australians including a six year-old girl, were also among the victims.
Dr Pamela Stephenson Connolly, the wife of the comedian Billy Connolly, who was staying in a house in Samoa when the earthquake struck, described how she “started to whimper, clinging pitifully to my pillow” when the house began to vibrate.
Later after the tsunami she described the scene she saw as “like walking into a terrible dream.”
“Cars teetered where they had been thrown, on top of rubble from collapsed dwellings. Fridges and air-conditioners floated in the sea. A bus sat in a pool of water and mud,” she said. Later she found out that “a dear friend” had been killed trying to escape.
Stephen Rogers, the British honorary consul in Samoa, said the British child’s parents were staying at the New Zealand High Commission in Samoa and had been in contact with the British High Commission in New Zealand.
A New Zealand diplomat said of the parents: “They are completely distressed and have not even informed their families back in Britain about what has happened yet.”
He said he had contacted five other Britons, aged in their 20s and 30s, all of whom escaped unhurt. The Foreign Office has warned against all but essential travel to the islands.
Gordon Brown said Britain was “ready to help in any way we can.”
The Queen said she was “saddened” by the tragedy and sent messages of condolence to the royal family in Tonga and to the Samoan head of state.
Residents described how they were forced to run for the lives after being given little or no warning before the giant wall of water smashed into their homes, flattening villages and washing cars into the sea.
Several coastal towns were wiped out entirely as the sea advanced, sending hundreds of locals running for their lives to higher ground. The south east of the island bore the brunt of the carnage.
The earthquake struck around 125 miles away from the islands.
Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, said four tsunami waves measuring 15 to 20 feet high roared ashore on American Samoa. He reported dozens of park workers missing.
The Samoa Red Cross, which opened five temporary shelters, estimated that 15,000 people had been affected.
On the island of Samoa, locals said entire tourist resorts were washed away, while one family was reported to have lost nine members in the disaster.
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials struggled to determine damage and casualties.
Rescue teams were scouring the beaches for bodies and hundreds of injured were being treated in hospitals as fears rose that scores more could have been swept out to sea.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Samoan Prime Minister, said: “So much has gone. So many people are gone. I’m so shocked, so saddened by all the loss.”
Samoa developed an early alert system following the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia that killed more than 220,000 people and laid waste to huge areas of coastline.
However, the speed of the tsunami this time meant there was little time to raise the alarm.
Australia, New Zealand and the United States have pledged assistance to the Samoan islands, with Barack Obama declaring the situation in the Pacific “a major disaster”.
The effects of the tsunami could be felt nearly 5,000 miles away on a Japanese island.
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