Tsunami victim saved after two weeks at sea

An Indonesian tsunami victim was plucked out of choppy waters by a passing cargo ship after surviving nearly two weeks at sea, officials said today.

Ari Afrizal, 22, was rescued late last week by the United Arab Emirates-registered AL Yamamah, which was heading to Malaysia from Muscat in Oman, said Sasheila Paramsothy, a spokeswoman for the shipping harbour Westport Malaysia.

Ari was swept out to sea when the December 26 tsunami hit his home in Aceh on Sumatra island, Paramsothy said, adding that the ship’s crew has not provided other details.

He was due to land tonight in Westport, 25 miles west of Kuala Lumpur.

It was the third such case of an Indonesian tsunami survivor brought to Malaysia.

A Malaysian tuna ship on December 30 rescued a pregnant Indonesian woman who clung to a floating sago palm tree for five days in the Indian Ocean. She was badly sun burnt and bitten by fish, but her baby remained safe.

The second miracle survivor was an Indonesian man who drifted for eight days before being spotted by a Japanese-owned cargo ship. Malaysian authorities have allowed him to stay and work in Malaysia after he said the tragedy left him with “nothing” in his hometown.