Parents' anxious wait after Asian tragedy (From Warrington Guardian)

Parents' anxious wait after Asian tragedy

THE family of a Hartford woman who survived the tsunami in South East Asia spent an anxious hour on Boxing Day not knowing if she was dead or alive.

Vicki Hunt's mother, Margaret Stevenson, and her stepfather, Anthony Stevenson, said a friend of Vicki's alerted them to the disaster early on Boxing Day morning.

Margaret, 60, of Applefield, The Pippins, said they turned on the television and saw the extent of the disaster before trying to get in touch with her daughter in The Maldives.

She said: "We rang her hotel but we couldn't get through. We just sat watching the news, completely numb.

"It seemed like an eternity."

But Vicki managed to contact them on her mobile phone later that morning to let them know that she was fine.

Margaret, a district nursing sister based in Chester, said: "We were so relieved but we were still worried in case there was another wave. It was the uncertainty about what was going on."

Anthony, 62, a director of resources at North Trafford College, said: "It seemed that she was on one of the better islands and they had food and water available.

"She was also lucky that she's a strong swimmer - if it had happened last year she might have panicked."

The family has been inundated with calls from friends, many of whom they had not heard from for years, ringing to check that Vicki was safe.

Vicki had no idea about what had happened to begin with because power supplies had been cut off. She told her mum that she thought a bomb had gone off nearby.

Despite the scare, Vicki has no immediate plans to come home.

She said: "We've got about 50 guests still here and someone has to stay here and clear up. It's not going to happen again.

"My family would love it if I came home but my mum knows me better by now. I love it here. I can't live in England; it's far too cold and expensive."

rbabington@guardiangrp.co.uk