Date:30/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/30/stories/2004123001632200.htm

International

Miracle on a mattress

PENANG, DEC. 29. The parents of a 20-day-old baby who survived the weekend tsunamis by floating on a mattress said her escape was "a real miracle," but the family will not leave the seaside district that has been their home for decades.

S. Tulasi was sleeping in a room in her parents' restaurant in the northern resort island of Penang when massive waves hit the area, sweeping her parents out of the building. When they struggled back into the severely damaged restaurant, they discovered her floating on a mattress in the 1.5-metre deep waters.

"We know this was a real miracle, thanks to God," her mother Ann Malay, 44, said . "So many other children died, but our baby was ok. She could have been swept out to the sea."

Ms. Malay said she has lived by the sea her entire life and Sunday's tidal waves would not frighten her family into moving elsewhere. "We will stay here. We will repair our place and continue our lives."

Children and teenagers, most of whom were on family picnics by the beach, comprise about one-third of at least 65 Malaysians confirmed killed by the tidal waves.

— AP