Parents in desperate hunt
But all left disappointed, except his Swedish uncle, who said he found the boy after seeing a report on the internet.
He was identified as Hannes Bergstrom. It is believed his mother and grandmother died in the disaster. His father, Hannes, was found sitting on a road not far from the town of Khao Lak in Phang Nga province, shortly after surging waves swept away hundreds of tourists and trapped people inside flooded buildings.
Some tourists saw the toddler sitting alone and took him to a nearby hospital, said Vilad Mumbansao at Phuket International Hospital.
“He looked bleak when he arrived at the hospital on Sunday night with some surface wounds on his face and body,” he said.
The child was lying in a hospital bed, wearing a red and yellow checked shirt, with his left hand hooked up to a saline drip. He was looking a little healthier after doctors gave him oxygen for a day, said Vilad.
Nurse Jintana Choochai said dozens of foreigners, who survived the tidal wave, went to the hospital to see if the boy was theirs.
Hospital officials said they were looking for Norbert and Edeltraud Michl, parents of a 10-year-old German girl, Sophia Michl, who they were caring for. She has cuts on her face.
It’s feared that many children may have become orphans because of the disaster.
“I saw many children perish. I saw parents trying to hold on to them but it was impossible,” said Karl Kalteka, of Munich, Germany, who was on the beach in Khao Lak at the Sofitel hotel when the waves hit. He lost his girlfriend in the disaster.
“It was hell,” Kalteka said while on a stretcher at Phuket airport with multiple wounds.
Rose Ehret, a Singaporean helping French victims, said she was caring for children who had lost their parents.
The hospital staff has cared for more than 600 injured. About 50 of the 70 patients currently admitted are foreigners.
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