Girl swept away by 2004 tsunami found alive after walking home for seven years

An Indonesian girl who was feared dead after being swept away in the Indian Ocean tsunami has reportedly found her way home after walking for seven years. The 15-year-old, known as Wati, was eight when the giant wave hit her village of Ujong Baroh, in West Aceh, on Boxing Day in 2004.

It is believed the youngster was swept away in the rushing waters after being separated from her mother, Yusniar, and two siblings as they ran for safety. The family survived but were forced to face the prospect that their daughter was dead. But on Wednesday, the teenager turned up in her home village after being missing for seven years.



Initially the girl was mistaken for a beggar after she appeared in a local coffee shop and sat in silence. She reportedly told workers at the Simpang Pelor café that she had been trying to get home but couldn’t remember her relative’s names, except that of her grandfather Ibrahim.

The child was then taken to her grandfather’s house where he soon recognised his long-lost granddaughter. Her mother and father Yusuf are believed to have confirmed Wati’s identity after spotting a small scar above her eyebrow that she got when she was six. The events of Wati’s seven-year ordeal were not disclosed although it is believed she had wandered all over the Aceh district in Indonesia.