Irish survivor to arrive in Oz after dramatic escape

LIMERICK tsunami survivor Triona O’Neill and her family are expected to arrive in Australia tomorrow following her dramatic escape from the disaster.

Triona, 30, from Clareview, her Australian husband Nick, 33, and 16-month-old son managed to flee the danger by first evacuating the guests from the hotel they manage before they ran for the hills as the 20ft (6m) waves struck.

Her New South Walesbased father-in-law Arthur Shannon yesterday told how he expected the family to make it out of stricken Samoa by the weekend. “We hope they will be back on Saturday,” he said. “They were able to get a message out this morning and sent my daughter a text telling her they would be home.”

Mr Shannon spoke of his huge relief on learning the family were unharmed when Triona’s mum, Brigid, called him from Limerick following the tsunami. “She told me they were okay and it was incredible to hear. The relief was huge.

“I should imagine they’re probably going into shock,” he said. “Looking at the pictures on the television it’s utter devastation so if they witnessed that it would be pretty horrific.”

The Gold Coast man said there were as yet no definite arrangements about where the family will stay. The hotel they managed, the Salani Surf Resort on the main island of Opolu, was wiped away by the tsunami, according to the family.

Meanwhile, an Irish couple, from Oranmore in Co Galway, who moved to Samoa a month ago have put their careers on hold to help the victims of the tsunami.

Telecommunications expert John Clancy and his wife Madeleine Rabbit, a qualified nurse have volunteered to help.

John, who works for Digicel Pacific said that he only became aware of the tsunami when he turned up for work in the capital Apia.

“A couple of guys and myself travelled to the south side in jeeps with food and water, but we didn’t anticipate the devastation that we witnessed when we got there,” he said.

John said that the scene of devastation which greeted them was frightening. “We saw cars turned over, houses demolished, hotels and roads swept away. It was very, very surreal,” he said.

Irish Red Cross staff based in Indonesia have offered their help to Indonesian disaster-response agencies.

Water, food and shelter are needed by people in Padang and the surrounding region on Sumatra.