Train Disaster: Battered by a Tsunami

A young Brit arrives in Sri Lanka to spend Christmas with family. Festivities over, Shenth Ravindra heads off on a solo trip around the country’s stunning coastline. But barely has his adventure begun when catastrophe strikes. As their train grinds to an unscheduled stop, something seems wrong. And then, from the tightly packed carriage, Shenth can only watch as a monstrous wave approaches… A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 0:27Speaker 01

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• 0:40Speaker 02

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• 0:46John Hopkins?

  It's just after 9 a.m. on December 26, 2004. On the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, a railway track winds for 100 kilometers from the capital city of Colombo down to Gaur. The route snakes along the country's exquisite coastline, slipping through dense forests and skirting past the gleaming Sapphire Ocean.

• 1:10John Hopkins?

  But today, the famous route has been interrupted. On the sun-scorched tracks just north of the village of Hickadua, a long, bright red train sits stationary.

• 1:26John Hopkins?

  This is the Matara Express. It's packed, standing room only. 1,500 people have bought tickets, but dozens more have snuck on board. Squeezed among the sweaty bodies is 25-year-old British tourist Shenth Ravindra, a young man on a much-needed holiday, looking forward to some hour-and-hour on the beach. But he's been on this train for over two hours now, and he's starting to get a little impatient.

• 1:55Speaker 04

  The train stopped around 9:15, like in a random spot, with no warning, right? There was no tannoy system or anything like that, so we just kind of stopped. And by this time, I was hot, sweaty, tired, frustrated. I just wanted to get off the train, check into my hostel.

• 2:17John Hopkins?

  What's the holdup? Shenth doesn't speak the local language, but he gets the impression his fellow passengers are as perplexed and perturbed by the delay as he is. He wriggles his shoulders, trying to shimmy himself a bit more room, and sighs.

• 2:34John Hopkins?

  All journey, he's been surrounded by gorgeous scenery. Perhaps another look out of the window will help pass the time.

• 2:42John Hopkins?

  But as he turns, he hears something unsettling.

• 2:47Speaker 04

  Suddenly I heard some screaming, coming from where the sea should have been. And it was literally people running from the west, where the sea coast should have been, towards the train. Now, I had no clue why they were doing that, but they were running towards us. And then I looked out of the gap, and I could see, basically, water coming in.

• 3:08John Hopkins?

  A huge mass of water is flooding towards the train, which remains unmoving on its tracks.

• 3:16John Hopkins?

  The passengers cast around, trying to work out what on earth is happening. More screaming, panicking individuals bundle onto the crowded carriage.

• 3:27John Hopkins?

  In the melee, there is no time to react, no time to properly brace for impact. Within seconds, the water thunders towards them, and then smashes into the side of the compartment.

• 3:41Speaker 04

  The water was quite powerful, because it hit the carriage I was on. And the actual carriage I was on then got pushed onto a 45-degree angle.

• 3:53John Hopkins?

  Shenth's compartment is wrenched from the tracks, as the water continues to engulf everything around. Bodies tumble in the mayhem. There's no knowing what has caused this sudden flood, and no knowing if worse is still to come.

• 4:09Speaker 04

  It felt like a disaster movie, so, yeah, I knew it was a life-threatening incident.

• 4:21John Hopkins?

  Never wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 4:45John Hopkins?

  In this episode, we meet Shenth Ravindra. In December 2004, Shenth is in Sri Lanka, spending Christmas with family. But, once the festivities are over, he boards a train and heads off on a solo trip around the country's stunning coastline. Over five days, he plans to visit beaches, relax by pool sites, meet new friends, and have the time of his life. But barely has his adventure begun, when catastrophe strikes.

• 5:14Speaker 04

  After about half an hour, I then heard some further screams. The water receded, and what happened was it came back as a bigger wave.

• 5:23John Hopkins?

  As his train is bombarded by the ocean, Shenth's situation will become more and more terrifying.

• 5:31John Hopkins?

  This is no isolated incident. A vast, natural disaster is unfolding all around.

• 5:38Speaker 04

  It was actually like a scary cliff face of water coming towards you. And I literally remember seeing, before the wave hit my train, one of the train carriages, these are big steel train carriages, being tossed around like toys in the sea.

• 5:52John Hopkins?

  Hundreds of miles from home, unable to understand the language, Shenth must rely on his own instincts to survive. But it's a race against time, with many fresh horrors lying in wait.

• 6:07John Hopkins?

  I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories.

• 6:38John Hopkins?

  It's around 7 AM on December the 26th, 2004.

• 6:44John Hopkins?

  It's Boxing Day in the Western world, but over in Sri Lanka, much of the nation is celebrating something different, a Buddhist bank holiday known as a Poya Day.

• 6:55John Hopkins?

  And in Colombo, the island's vibrant capital, all rules are out of the window. Almost everyone is off work, relaxing, catching up with friends, or heading off to the beaches.

• 7:06John Hopkins?

  So when 25-year-old Shenth Ravindra arrives at Fort Railway Station, it's unsurprisingly busy. He and his dad bundle their way through the crowds towards the platforms.

• 7:20John Hopkins?

  Amid the hubbub, Shenth manages to punch his ticket, wave goodbye to his old man, and clamber aboard a long, bright red train, the Matara Express.

• 7:32Speaker 04

  The thing that struck me was it was a really busy train. It was standing room only because the 26th obviously was Boxing Day, but is also a Buddhist bank holiday. So Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country. Typically on a Poya Day, just like in the UK, a lot of people work in the capital, but then they live elsewhere. So on this Poya Day, everyone was just going back home to see friends and family. So the train was busier than usual.

• 7:59John Hopkins?

  Shenth takes his place standing inside one of the train's carriages. It's cramped, but that's all part of the experience. After all, immersing himself in the South Asian culture is exactly what he's here to do.

• 8:16Speaker 04

  I was 25 years old, single, went on a trip to Sri Lanka with my dad. So I went in December, because my dad's birthday is in December. And the holiday was split into two parts. Part number one was basically spending time with family, and we did a little tour of the island. We went to some of the big tourist spots. And then we came back from the first part on Christmas Eve. I spent Christmas Day with the family at the family house in Colombo. And then the second part of the holiday was me doing my own kind of travelling. So I wanted to travel down to Hickadua, which is the big kind of party zone.

• 8:59Speaker 04

  I was 25 years old, I wanted to explore, I wanted to get loose, all that kind of stuff.

• 9:08John Hopkins?

  With a full-on job back home, working for a London media company, this trip is the perfect opportunity to unwind. What's more, as his parents are separated, it enables him to spend some quality time with his dad and connect with his Sri Lankan roots.

• 9:25John Hopkins?

  The past week has been like a chapter from a tourist's guidebook, as they've ticked off their bucket list destinations, one by one. It's been the perfect father-son trip, but now it's time for some solo travel.

• 9:41John Hopkins?

  The next few days stretch out before him like an irresistible blank canvas.

• 9:47John Hopkins?

  And it all starts at Hickadua, a three-hour train ride away along Sri Lanka's stunning southwest coast.

• 9:58John Hopkins?

  Beginning its journey in Colombo, the express chugs southwards through lush green forest and along the glittering coastline. The clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean stretch out, seemingly carpeted with jewels.

• 10:13John Hopkins?

  As the bright red carriages sparkle in the late December sun, and a refreshing ocean breeze wafts in through the train's open sides, it's easy to understand its nickname, the Queen of the Sea. Every 30 minutes or so, the train comes to a stop, and a few passengers trickle off, to be instantly replaced by hundreds more. Some flash tickets to the guards, while others sneak on without paying a penny, well-hidden in the throng.

• 10:41Speaker 04

  It was packed. I didn't manage to get a seat, so it's standing room only. So it wasn't particularly comfortable. But the actual train journey itself was beautiful, because you're straddling the coast. So I was just looking outside the window, it's basically a gap in the carriage, right? There's no glass like you see in a UK train. It was basically like a hole in the side. These are old trains. So we're just going down, I'm looking at the scenery as it goes down the west coast.

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• 11:41Speaker 01

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• 11:53Speaker 02

  Pricing participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

• 12:01John Hopkins?

  The minutes stretch into hours as the Queen of the Seas speeds through paradise. Floral scents waft in on the warm breeze and exotic birds dart this way and that, the exciting sights, sounds, and smells compensating for the stuffy, overpacked carriage.

• 12:22John Hopkins?

  A little after 9:00 a.m., they pull into Ambalan Goda. It's the final stop before Hikadua.

• 12:31John Hopkins?

  While the journey has been an aesthetic treat, Shent is beginning to look forward to its ending. It's been well over two hours, and the heat is intense, particularly when the train is stationary. His feet throb from standing on the rigid wooden floor. His shoulders ache under the weight of his backpack, and his arms and legs drip with sweat.

• 12:53Speaker 04

  I must have got about, I think about 80% into the journey. And by this time, I was hot, sweaty, tired, frustrated. I just wanted to get off the train, check into my hostel, and then hit the beach, get something to eat, get something to drink, have a shower, all of that kind of stuff. And then the train stopped around 9:15, like in a random spot, with no warning, right? There was no tannoy system or anything like that. So we just kind of stopped. And like, it felt like we were so close to where I needed to get to. We were about 20 minutes away. So I was just like, I hope this train just picks up and moves on.

• 13:34John Hopkins?

  At first, this pause raises no red flags. It's probably some sort of brief, technical fault. Or maybe the driver has stopped for a quick cigarette. They'll be back on their way in no time. But the minutes pass, and they remain static. Some of the passengers are starting to get irritated now. Shenth can't speak the local language, so he's unable to ask what is going on. Is the stop this lengthy normal? Is there a problem with the train? And then, the answer becomes clear. And it's something far worse.

• 14:12John Hopkins?

  To the side, noises. Distant at first, but coming closer. Human voices in distress.

• 14:21Speaker 04

  Suddenly, I heard some screaming, coming from where the sea should have been. And it was literally people running from the west, where the sea coast should have been, towards the train. Now, I had no clue why they were doing that, but they were running towards us. And actually, some of the people who are running towards us from the sea, towards the train carriage, started boarding the train carriage. And then, suddenly, I heard a noise. And then, I looked out of the gap, which is the window. And I could see, basically, water coming in, like, from where the coast should have been. Like, I couldn't actually see the sea at that point, but I could see water coming in.

• 15:03John Hopkins?

  Hundreds of people are running towards the train as a cascade of water chases behind. It crashes into trees and lampposts, and swallows parked cars and beach furniture, tossing them around in its current. Unlike the miles of pristine ocean Shenth's been admiring for the past two hours, this wave is dirty and brown, a sign of the mud and debris it's collected. Several of the fleeing people reach the train and leap on board, clutching the railings of the steel carriages with all their might. Shenth watches with a mix of fear and confusion.

• 15:40Speaker 04

  The first water, it didn't seem very threatening. I've used this analogy a few times, but it's a bit like when you turn your bath tap on, like a slow, kind of, leveling of water.

• 15:51John Hopkins?

  There is no sense in panicking, but it quickly becomes obvious that this situation is even more serious than it first appears.

• 16:03John Hopkins?

  With an almighty whack, the torrent bulldozes into the train, and the passengers on board feel it start to tip.

• 16:12Speaker 04

  Actually, the water was quite powerful because it hit the carriage I was on. And the actual carriage I was on then got pushed onto a 45-degree angle, so then I did feel like I was in danger.

• 16:25John Hopkins?

  The force of the wave pushes the train off its tracks, knocking it onto its side.

• 16:31John Hopkins?

  The steel container screeches as it's wrenched free from the rest of the locomotive, before it's sent skidding across the nearby grass.

• 16:40John Hopkins?

  Seconds later, it grinds to a halt.

• 16:44John Hopkins?

  Shenth checks himself. He's bruised, but other than that, he doesn't have any obvious injuries. But that's a minor comfort in their circumstances. Moments earlier, the train was gently gliding along, no signs of danger whatsoever. Now it's carnage. Shenth's carriage has taken a battering. People inside clamber over each other. Worse still, tilted on a 45-degree angle, with murky floodwater swirling through every nook and cranny, the carriage is filling up, fast. The risk of drowning is now very real.

• 17:32John Hopkins?

  Shenth pushes himself onto his feet and takes in the surrounding chaos. People are demanding answers. Some are crying in shock while others are searching for their loved ones. A flurry of panicked voices. There are around 150 passengers crammed inside the steel container, but as far as Shenth can tell, there's only one way out, and that's through the window.

• 17:57John Hopkins?

  But with the carriage toppled over, the window is now above him, and filthy floodwater is pouring in like a series of mini waterfalls.

• 18:06John Hopkins?

  Through the rising water levels, Shenf splashes across the carriage and hoists himself up to the window, squinting through the torrent that splashes onto his face.

• 18:16John Hopkins?

  The gap is tiny. He exhales, ridding his lungs of air and decreasing his chest size. This allows him to just about wriggle through.

• 18:27John Hopkins?

  Seconds later, catching his breath, Shenf is out in the open, balanced precariously on the corner of the carriage. Soon, he hears others following his path, and turns back, offering his hand to help his fellow passengers.

• 18:42Speaker 04

  I and the other people in the carriage managed to climb out to the top of the train. If you could imagine the train was at an angle, we sat on the corner of the wall of the train and the roof of the train. I don't speak the local language, so I felt a bit isolated and I was by myself. What's just gone on? And no one had a clue.

• 19:01John Hopkins?

  Judging by the landscape around him, saturated greenery, fish flapping on the tracks, trees and lamp posts poking out just above the surface, it's obvious there's been a flood. But it seems the water has come from the sea. It's not a river bursting its banks that's responsible. What's more, the day is still perfectly sunny. There's no rain to speak of.

• 19:25John Hopkins?

  What could have caused it? Any possible explanation seems outlandish.

• 19:31Speaker 04

  So I think the political situation at the time was quite fraught. There was the issues between the government and the separatist movement. I thought it might have been a terrorist attack or something. I thought it might have been a bomb underwater or something like that. I did not think it was a natural disaster. But to be honest, being young at that time, I didn't really think too much of it, and it didn't seem like there was an immediate issue. There didn't seem to be any casualties, or injuries for that matter, and we were just sitting on the top.

• 19:58John Hopkins?

  As the minutes pass and the sun continues to shine, things appear to mellow. The flood levels are decreasing, no one is hurt, everything is somewhat stable again.

• 20:11John Hopkins?

  Most of the train has remained on the tracks, and while Shenth's carriage has been displaced and taken a hit, no major damage seems to have been done. Perhaps they're over the worst of this, whatever this is.

• 20:26Speaker 04

  I took the opportunity to get my digital camera out and take some pictures to document what had happened, because I thought, you know, I didn't really realise what was going on. And then we were on there for about half an hour, and with no sort of real plan, expecting some people to come and help us. I remember looking out to where the rest of the carriages were, and the rest of the carriages were sitting on the train track. So at that moment in time, at that precise moment, it seemed like our carriage was the one that got hurt the most, because it was the one that tipped over, and we all had to come out, and everyone else was just sitting happily on their carriages.

• 21:02John Hopkins?

  But as more time passes, the weather starts to change.

• 21:07John Hopkins?

  A thick grey mist pollutes the blue sky, and the air sags with moisture. What was a refreshing light breeze picks up momentum, whistling through the skeletal branches of the trees.

• 21:21John Hopkins?

  The train carriage wobbles slightly, and Shenth notices the water beneath them is moving.

• 21:29Speaker 04

  Then the water started to recede away, so like the water was basically where the train was, then it started to recede, so like it went back to where the sea should have been. It was strange, right, you saw like the muddy, muddy ground underneath, you saw like fish flapping away, and it was receding out, so I just thought that was the end of it.

• 21:47John Hopkins?

  It's as though a giant, invisible hand is slowly dragging the water back, away from the train tracks, through the jungle, across the sandy shore, and into the sea. Shenth and the other passengers watch, mesmerised by this odd hypnotic occurrence.

• 22:07John Hopkins?

  There is some muttering, even the odd giggle of relief, presumably the water moving away can only be a good thing.

• 22:16John Hopkins?

  It doesn't take long for this optimism to shatter. What happens next is mind blowing.

• 22:23Speaker 04

  It was strange and maybe this is the kind of how like your memories change over time. But like it was a sunny day, but then it seemed like the day became quite grey and miserable. And then after about half an hour, I then heard some further screams. And what happened was it came back as a bigger wave. And then this wave was not the unthreatening turning of the tap that I described as the first wave. It was actually like a scary cliff face of water coming towards you.

• 22:54John Hopkins?

  Pure terror grips the train passengers. This second wave is enormous and eclipses everything in sight. A wall of furious water charging from the sea at a horrifying speed. It towers into the sky 10, 15, 20 feet, who knows?

• 23:15John Hopkins?

  It engulfs the beach in one rapid movement, then swallows the roads, the trees, the houses, gathering even more momentum as it travels.

• 23:25John Hopkins?

  The carriages of the queen of the sea are sitting ducks on the tracks, directly in the path of the colossal wave.

• 23:33Speaker 04

  As this wave was traversing along the beach, the carriages that were sat on the train tracks, basically initially I thought they were the lucky ones because they weren't tipped over, but like in reality, they were the unlucky ones because this wave basically consumed and devoured those trains that were sat. And I literally remember seeing before the wave hit my train, one of the train carriages, these are big steel train carriages being tossed around like toys right in the sea. And then I realised it's serious. It felt like a disaster movie, so I knew it was a life threatening incident.

• 24:07John Hopkins?

  Shenth braces himself for impact. The other carriages have all been hit and his is next in line.

• 24:14John Hopkins?

  Time stands still as the Titanic wave charges ever closer. Within its lethal grip, everything is flung around. Cars, furniture, bricks, fragments of rooftops. He waits for the inevitable.

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• 26:33John Hopkins?

  Nobody knows this for certain yet, but this approaching wave is part of a tsunami. Triggered hours ago by an enormous earthquake at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, it's traveled hundreds of nautical miles from the coast of Indonesia. It's already caused utter devastation to towns, cities, farmland, and coastlines throughout Southeast Asia.

• 26:58John Hopkins?

  And now, two hours since the first tremors were felt, it's about to strike the remaining carriage of the Matara Express.

• 27:09John Hopkins?

  And then, something astonishing happens.

• 27:14Speaker 04

  And then the wave hit my carriage, but because it was disconnected, fortunately, the carriage kind of surfed the wave. We managed to maintain our position on there, and then it pushed up against the house that was behind us.

• 27:31John Hopkins?

  Carried on the crest of the swell, Chenth's carriage somehow remains largely intact, a little red triangle on top of a colossal wall of murky grey.

• 27:43John Hopkins?

  For a few moments, the carriage seems almost weightless, before it slams into a multi-story building.

• 27:56John Hopkins?

  Though water continues to crash past, the building provides a temporary blockade. The carriage is pinned between the onrushing ocean and the sturdy structure.

• 28:08John Hopkins?

  Chenth, like dozens around him, clings to the roof, trying to ensure he isn't swept away. He watches as the water swirls beneath him, revealing dangerous flashes of debris.

• 28:21John Hopkins?

  But there is no time to waste, gawping at the scene. Who knows how long the carriage will be held here, in this delicate balance?

• 28:30John Hopkins?

  Chenth needs to get away while he still can.

• 28:34Speaker 04

  I kind of, I backed myself to survive it, if that makes sense. I kind of, I strategically knew what I was gonna do.

• 28:42John Hopkins?

  Just behind him, the multi-story building looms. It stretches tens of feet into the sky, and getting to higher ground seems the best bet right now.

• 28:54John Hopkins?

  But there's no easy path. Below, the sinister pool of water swirls and crashes.

• 29:01John Hopkins?

  If Shenth were to fall into the wave, he'd be swept away. On the other hand, he can't stay here. If or when another wave comes, it will engulf the carriage.

• 29:14John Hopkins?

  The only way is up.

• 29:16John Hopkins?

  He turns towards the building, bends his knees, and kicks off from the carriage with all his might.

• 29:22Speaker 04

  I jumped from the carriage onto the house and head up to higher ground. So we were probably about fifteen foot. So I jumped onto the second story and then I jumped up to the third story. So it was pretty hot.

• 29:39John Hopkins?

  Soaking wet and exhausted, Shenth clambers his way upwards.

• 29:45John Hopkins?

  His clothes stick to his skin as salt stings every cut and scrape on his body. His feet are bare, his flip-flops snatched away by the wave. His heavy backpack sags on his shoulders. Finally, he hauls himself onto a high ledge of the building and pauses, trying to calm his breathing and the hammering of his heart.

• 30:12John Hopkins?

  Now he can look around and sees plainly that his suffering is just a tiny piece of a much larger jigsaw. Everywhere, as far as the eye can see, it is total devastation.

• 30:26Speaker 04

  I remember surveying exactly what was happening afterwards. And that was pure carnage, right? Like, the water was high, loads of the train carriages disappeared underneath the water. You could see, you know, it's grim telling this, but like a lot of corpses in the body. And then I was sat on top of that, just totally shell-shocked.

• 30:47John Hopkins?

  It's impossible to process everything that's happening. But soon, there is a stark reminder that the danger is far from over.

• 30:58Speaker 04

  And then I saw the water starting to recede again. So at that point, when I saw the receding, I thought, right, it's probably got to be a much bigger one coming along.

• 31:07John Hopkins?

  Trying as best he can to focus and act fast, Shenth formulates a plan.

• 31:13Speaker 04

  So I had my backpack with me. And what I did was, I took out my travel guidebook, which was a Lonely Planet book at the time. Because it had all of the embassy details and all that. It's all phones and stuff, so I took out a notepad that had all of my family's telephone numbers. I put them into a smaller waterproof bag. I threw my big backpack into the water. I took my shirt off and I decided, right, I've probably got half an hour. So like, get into the water and head into higher ground.

• 31:47John Hopkins?

  In the space of roughly thirty minutes, two waves have struck. The second was larger than the first, and in all probability, the third will be even bigger.

• 31:58John Hopkins?

  While he still has time, Shenth needs to get away from the vulnerable coastline, move inland, and travel up into the hilltops of Sri Lanka.

• 32:08John Hopkins?

  He looks around at his fellow survivors, and his heart drops as he sees there aren't many. What was a lively, bustling train just an hour ago now resembles a skeleton crew.

• 32:22Speaker 04

  There was a handful of people. And then when I decided to make the decision to get down, as the water started receding, I thought basically I had half an hour to get out of this situation or there might be a bigger wave. There were these Sri Lankan guys, I was like, we need to get into the water, we need to get out, and they're like, no, we're going to stay here. I was like, are you sure?

• 32:41John Hopkins?

  However, one survivor, a Swedish woman, agrees to Shenth's plan. She too can see that their only option is to descend into the water and head to higher ground.

• 32:54John Hopkins?

  Shenth and this fellow tourist look inland at the flooded path ahead. A watery maze of rubble, broken trees, and far worse.

• 33:05John Hopkins?

  The pair set off, hoping to escape the tragic fate which has already befallen so many.

• 33:12Speaker 04

  It just seemed to go from like 1,500 people down to just like me and one other.

• 33:25John Hopkins?

  Free from the cumbersome weight of his backpack, Shenth gingerly makes his way down the side of the building. His bare feet slip on the flooded concrete, but his hands cling on, steadying his descent.

• 33:40John Hopkins?

  After a minute or two of careful climbing, he is level with the water.

• 33:47John Hopkins?

  The surface is a greenish-brown colour, stained by the soil, sand and trees lurking within.

• 33:54John Hopkins?

  Car doors poke out here and there, jagged and shattered. Wooden furniture bobs on the surface, while plastic bags and bottles float by.

• 34:03Speaker 04

  It was quite treacherous because there was loads of obstacles in your way. So basically, when I go into the water, it's about waist deep, and it was receding, right, so it's getting lower. But then, without being grim, I'm having to move dead bodies out of the way to head east. There's loads of debris everywhere, there's like wood, there's flapping fish, I'm walking all over, all sorts of stuff, and that's when I cut my foot.

• 34:29John Hopkins?

  Unable to see what he's walking on, every step is a risk. And Shenth feels the skin of his foot slice open as he lands on something sharp.

• 34:38John Hopkins?

  Pain shoots through his body, and he stumbles forward.

• 34:42John Hopkins?

  He limps on through the waist-high water, trying to ignore the torn skin flapping on the bottom of his foot.

• 34:50John Hopkins?

  And then, he notices how quiet it is around him.

• 34:55John Hopkins?

  The crash of the ocean has fallen silent. The wind no longer howls, and there's no sound of traffic on the roads. But even more eerily, there are no voices. There's no one, just the Swedish woman by his side. They converse in broken English, but she is just as clueless about the situation as he is.

• 35:18John Hopkins?

  Shenth marches on through the floodwater and towards what he thinks is safety. He's only 25 years old, in a foreign country, but right now, his gut instincts are all the two survivors have.

• 35:35Speaker 04

  So it was a gamble, right? Obviously, I didn't know the area. I was hoping it would only take me five, 10 minutes. It took longer because of all of the debris that was in my way. And I was like thinking, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. A third wave could come at any minute, and then I'm in serious trouble.

• 35:53John Hopkins?

  Using basic geography, Shentf heads east in the opposite direction to the ocean. They make good progress in spite of his lacerated foot. But with each step he takes, he keeps an eye on the water, noticing that it's still lowering millimeter by millimeter.

• 36:14John Hopkins?

  When will the next wave hit? They stride forward with more urgency.

• 36:23John Hopkins?

  The catastrophic damage stretches out on all sides: metal, glass, wood, brick.

• 36:30John Hopkins?

  And then finally, finally, Shentf feels the terrain begin to change.

• 36:37Speaker 04

  And then I just remember hitting the incline of the hill. It was water-filled, and then it was muddy, and then it became dry. And I felt like as soon as I touched dry, I was fine.

• 36:53Speaker 00

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• 37:24Speaker 06

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• 37:57John Hopkins?

  He is out of the water, heading up to higher, drier, safer ground. Under the relentless heat of the mid-morning sun, Shenth and his Swedish companion trek through the abandoned wilderness.

• 38:11John Hopkins?

  They scramble up rocky hillsides, stumble through long grass, and traipse across deserted roads. Neither of them glances backwards.

• 38:21John Hopkins?

  An hour passes, then another, and another. In almost three hours of walking, the stranded strangers don't encounter anyone else. And then, perched on top of yet another steep hill, their salvation awaits.

• 38:41John Hopkins?

  Standing in the light sunshine is an enormous, beautiful, white building. Its roof intricately colored with splashes of red, orange, and gold. Two double doors guard the entrance, leading onto a flight of stone steps. It's a Buddhist monastery.

• 39:01John Hopkins?

  Shenth dips into his dwindling energy reserves one last time and limps up the steps towards sanctuary.

• 39:09Speaker 04

  Buddhist monasteries are usually at the top of the hill, so everyone is congregated at the top of the hill. So we're all there. There was obviously a lot of shock and confusion as to what actually just happened. I obviously felt very exposed and very isolated because I couldn't speak the language. I didn't know what was going on. I was young. I was a million miles away from home. I was far away from my dad.

• 39:33John Hopkins?

  The monastery might be beautiful on the outside, but inside the scene is heartbreaking.

• 39:39John Hopkins?

  Every square meter of the building is filled with tragedy. Survivors are shouting for their loved ones, nursing injured relatives, crying into each other's shoulders. Some sit silently in the corners, apparently unable to comprehend the unfolding nightmare.

• 39:57John Hopkins?

  Shenth looks around frantically, trying to gather any clues about what's going on.

• 40:04John Hopkins?

  Finally, from somewhere in the throng, he hears words he can understand, muffled English in a sea of voices.

• 40:14John Hopkins?

  From the centre of the monastery, a woman with an American accent is speaking loudly.

• 40:19John Hopkins?

  Shenth rushes over to introduce himself. As luck would have it, the woman is explaining that she owns a farm not far from here and is willing to take some survivors with her.

• 40:31John Hopkins?

  When he tells her his situation, she hastily agrees to take him home. At her farm, he'll be able to shower, eat, clean the wound on his foot, and finally rest.

• 40:43John Hopkins?

  The woman also has a telephone, so he can check in with his family.

• 40:49John Hopkins?

  And so, for the second time that day, Shenth sets off into the unknown.

• 40:55John Hopkins?

  Just as the Swedish woman blindly trusted him earlier, Shenth is now placing all his faith in the kindness of a total stranger. One who, just like him and thousands of others, has no idea what has happened.

• 41:10John Hopkins?

  When they eventually reach her farm, they switch on the TV, hoping for answers. Then, it finally all becomes clear.

• 41:20Speaker 04

  Basically, CNN was reporting about this huge earthquake that had hit Indonesia and had destroyed the place. They were then using the word tsunami, and then that's when the penny started to drop that actually maybe that's what hit me. CNN's reporting about the impact of a tsunami in Indonesia, and then my mind started to think, actually, could that feasibly hit us? And we were all sat in front of the television, and then it was literally like an episode, right? Indonesia's been hit, Thailand's been hit, you know, Malaysia's been hit, Sri Lanka's been hit. And then I remember seeing distinctly footage of the train I was on, on the TV, and it was like, right, so that's what hit me.

• 42:04John Hopkins?

  The news reporter asserts that the total extent of the devastation from the tsunami is still unknown, but it's expected to be horrifyingly high. There's already talk of it being one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

• 42:20John Hopkins?

  If the tsunami really is as bad as the report suggests, Shenth needs to check in with his family. He has to make sure his dad is safe in Colombo and tell his mum, who's on the other side of the world, that he's okay.

• 42:33Speaker 04

  As you can imagine, infrastructure in Sri Lanka in 2004 wasn't great, but they managed to have a telephone line. And like, everyone was trying to use the telephone line. So the first thing I did was I contacted the British Embassy. I gave him my mum's telephone number and I told them to tell her that I was fine. And then I tried to call my dad, who was in Colombo with his family. Actually, it was easier to get to the embassy than it was to my dad, but I told them where I was.

• 43:00John Hopkins?

  Shenth spends two nights recuperating on the American Strangers Farm. He then resolves to make his way back to Colombo, where he hopes to reunite with his family.

• 43:12John Hopkins?

  He thanks his generous host profusely, waving her goodbye and wishing her luck, before he hops in the back of a truck.

• 43:21John Hopkins?

  The grumbling vehicle winds its way through the hillsides of Sri Lanka towards the capital.

• 43:29Speaker 04

  From the south, north up to Colombo. And it was just surreal, the whole journey, you just saw all of this carnage and destruction, like palm trees tipped over, cars upside down, fish everywhere, destroyed houses, all of this.

• 43:45John Hopkins?

  When he finally reaches Colombo on December the 28th, after almost a day of travelling, the pain in his injured foot is getting worse. The wound is deep and throbbing with infection. Before finding his family, he needs immediate medical help.

• 44:03John Hopkins?

  Shenth checks himself into a local hospital, where doctors quickly operate. Once again, he's able to count himself among the very lucky ones. His wound is cleaned, stitched up, and the infection suppressed with antibiotics.

• 44:18John Hopkins?

  Two days later, he checks himself out and heads to the family home, where he finally gets to see his dad again, who managed to escape the tsunami unharmed.

• 44:32John Hopkins?

  After an emotional reunion, they are ready to board a plane back to London. On New Year's Eve, the plane leaves the tarmac of Sri Lanka and soars high into the bright blue sky, gliding over hundreds of miles of ruin.

• 44:48John Hopkins?

  When they land in Heathrow, over 5,000 miles away from the nightmare they have just left, the reality of the situation starts to really sink in.

• 44:57Speaker 04

  It was only when I arrived in London that I realised how big it was because obviously, I was in hospital, there was again no iPhones, no iPads, no whatever, so I wasn't really keeping abreast of the news. And then there was loads of press waiting at Heathrow, and I got interviewed by a few people, and that's when I realised the whole enormity of how it not being just isolated to Indonesia, but how it actually was a global phenomenon, hit me.

• 45:26John Hopkins?

  The tsunami of December 2004 truly was a global disaster. Scientists and geologists later revealed the events were triggered by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

• 45:40John Hopkins?

  The resulting tsunami generated waves reaching over 100 feet in height.

• 45:46John Hopkins?

  The torrents crashed through a dozen countries in South Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. Nearly 230,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives, and well over 1 million were displaced. People from all walks of life were affected, including, of course, the travellers on board Sri Lanka's Queen of the Sea.

• 46:11John Hopkins?

  Reports vary, but estimates suggest around 1,500 passengers died, making Shenth Ravindra a survivor of what's thought to be the worst train disaster in history.

• 46:25John Hopkins?

  Shent's quick thinking and decisive actions allowed him to escape. But given the sheer scale of the wider tragedy, he ultimately summarizes his own outcome with a stark and simple truth.

• 46:39Speaker 04

  I think I was extremely fortunate, blessed to be on the carriage that got disconnected because I think if my carriage was still sat on the track and I was sat there, I would have just drowned. But then also, you know, I do think I made the right decisions at the right time. So when I was on top of the house and decided to head inland, I was one of two people that made that decision. We were the two people that survived. So if I'd have stayed up there, then I could very well have perished up there as well.

• 47:14John Hopkins?

  Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet US Navy fighter pilot Keegan Gill.

• 47:21John Hopkins?

  In early 2014, Keegan is at the start of his career. But a routine training exercise takes a disastrous turn when a maneuver he's executed countless times before goes horribly wrong.

• 47:34John Hopkins?

  As he loses control of his jet, it seems his fate is sealed. Even if he can bail himself out of immediate danger, further perils await. Ahead of him are debilitating injuries, a fight to stay conscious, and an epic struggle in great white shark territory.

• 47:56John Hopkins?

  That's next time on Real Survival Stories. Listen to Keegan's story today without waiting a week by subscribing to Noiser Plus.

• 48:35Speaker 06

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