Shmuel, 29, had been vacationing in Sri Lanka for just one week when the gigantic waves caused by a huge earthquake in the Indian Ocean wreaked havoc across Southeast Asia. He and five friends were surfing on a beach in Sri Lanka when the tsunami began to hit. The staggering death toll approached 150,000 Saturday night.
After managing to leave the sea, Shmuel went to his flooded room. "There was nothing that hadn't moved," he told reporters upon his return to Israel aboard a special El Al plane with 57 other Israelis who survived the epic catastrophe. The only possessions that remained undamaged were his tefillin, tallit and passport.
Though planeloads of Israelis have returned home and most listed as missing have now been located, at least four victims have been identified, and six are still listed as missing. In addition to the previously identified Hemda Cohen and Sharon Haliel, authorities said, Zohar Aloni, 24, from Tel Aviv, and Esther Levy, a 58-year-old Ra'anana resident, were killed. All four were in Thailand, as were four of the six missing Israelis. Zohar Aloni was an El Al flight attendant. Esther Levy was on a boat with her husband Aharon, who survived and is recovering at a Tel Aviv hospital.
Israel sent an air force cargo plane to bring food and medicine to the survivors and brought back 43 of them Thursday. Despite pleas from authorities to leave the area, about 40 Israelis remain on the Andaman Islands near India, ignoring warnings of aftershocks and epidemics that might result from the unburied bodies. Quakes registering 6.5 on the Richter scale hit the island of Sumatra Saturday, causing panic but no injuries.
Among the survivors who returned to Israel was Yonit Hagi of Jerusalem, who said that wherever she ran, water chased her and then added, "I found myself on a rooftop." She and others with her feared more floods, and they fled to a jungle. One of the organizers of a rescue team, Henry Magnus, said no Hollywood disaster movie could match the devastation he saw in Southeast Asia.
After managing to leave the sea, Shmuel went to his flooded room. "There was nothing that hadn't moved," he told reporters upon his return to Israel aboard a special El Al plane with 57 other Israelis who survived the epic catastrophe. The only possessions that remained undamaged were his tefillin, tallit and passport.
Though planeloads of Israelis have returned home and most listed as missing have now been located, at least four victims have been identified, and six are still listed as missing. In addition to the previously identified Hemda Cohen and Sharon Haliel, authorities said, Zohar Aloni, 24, from Tel Aviv, and Esther Levy, a 58-year-old Ra'anana resident, were killed. All four were in Thailand, as were four of the six missing Israelis. Zohar Aloni was an El Al flight attendant. Esther Levy was on a boat with her husband Aharon, who survived and is recovering at a Tel Aviv hospital.
Israel sent an air force cargo plane to bring food and medicine to the survivors and brought back 43 of them Thursday. Despite pleas from authorities to leave the area, about 40 Israelis remain on the Andaman Islands near India, ignoring warnings of aftershocks and epidemics that might result from the unburied bodies. Quakes registering 6.5 on the Richter scale hit the island of Sumatra Saturday, causing panic but no injuries.
Among the survivors who returned to Israel was Yonit Hagi of Jerusalem, who said that wherever she ran, water chased her and then added, "I found myself on a rooftop." She and others with her feared more floods, and they fled to a jungle. One of the organizers of a rescue team, Henry Magnus, said no Hollywood disaster movie could match the devastation he saw in Southeast Asia.