Moments from death (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Moments from death

Trowbridge cricketer Mahendra WijesenFAMILIES across west Wiltshire caught up in the devastating tsunami which swept across south east Asia claiming the lives of more than 80,000 people have spoken of their ordeals.

In Sri Lanka, Trowbridge cricketer Mahendra Wijesen, left, was forced to flee the killer wave with his wife Elizabeth and 17-month-old daughter Rumi.

The family ran across a train track which minutes later became another scene of carnage when the tidal surge engulfed a passenger train, killing more than 1,000 travellers.

A family of four from Winsley, holidaying in Sri Lanka, returned from a day trip to find their beach resort in ruins while a former Bradford on Avon electrician narrowly escaped death on a diving holiday in Patong Beach, Thailand.

Charities across the district are gearing up to help the massive aid effort launched to help those whose lives have been devastated by the Boxing Day disaster.