RTÉ producer survives tsunami

A SENIOR television producer with RTÉ said he is lucky to be alive after narrowly avoiding being drowned when the tsunami hit a holiday resort in Thailand where at least 800 people are believed to have been killed.

Bill Malone, producer of The Late Late Show, described yesterday how he had a miraculous escape after being caught up in the killer tidal wave that devastated vast areas of coastline around the Indian Ocean last Sunday.

The 34-year-old native of Waterford city had gone to the popular Thai seaside resort of Khao Lak, around 100km north of the main tourist island of Phuket, for a scuba-diving holiday over Christmas with his German-born girlfriend, Elke.

He told listeners to Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio One yesterday that they were forced to run naked from their bedroom in a native treehouse after being alerted by local people at around 10am last Sunday about the imminent arrival of the tidal wave.

“I could hear this low rumble followed by a high, white noise and then ‘snap, snap, snap’ as trees and buildings started to collapse,” said Mr Malone.

The TV producer said his head was smashed against a tree by the force of the current as the couple tried to escape the massive body of water.

“There was incredible pressure. I thought there was no way I’m going to survive,” he recalled as the water level reached head-height.

Mr Malone said he and his girlfriend, who had also managed to cling on to the tree, jumped back into the water after it had receded slightly, even though it was still “neck-high”.

They managed to scramble onto nearby rocks which allowed them access to a road and safety.