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Arugam
Bay rescue: Bandula Gunawardene tells his story Dr. Goonewardene who was with his wife and two daughters had just finished their breakfast at the Arugam Bay Beach Resort when the tsunami struck. His in-laws, sister-in-law, her husband, and their three sons were also there with them. By the time the second wave struck the area, Dr. Gunawardene had already lost his 6-year old nephew and mother-in-law, both presumed washed out to sea. Having rushed to a nearby hill before the onset of the second wave, due to timely warning by a passer-by, the family tried to help the others around them while continuing the search for the bodies or news of their two missing family members. "Bandula Gunawardene and his family too arrived at the location where everyone had run to take refuge. My brother-in-law and I had to force open a dispensary storeroom to get medicines to treat the wounded. My hand was swollen badly due to an injury sustained while clinging on to the hotel's kitchen door when the tsunami struck. The former minister even promised to give a letter to the effect that he approved of breaking open the dispensary due to the emergency," Dr. Goonewardene said. Speaking on the oft-talked about helicopter ride out of the disaster area, Dr. Goonewardene said the fact that any helicopters reached Arugam Bay at all was due to the presence of the former minister. "Considering that the tsunami had struck several other places as well, we have to be grateful that the former minister was there and did everything he could to help everyone. The only way we could have hoped to leave the area otherwise was by trekking through a 8 km. stretch of jungle, known to be infested with elephants, to Pottuvil. While it is true that he did leave the area in the first helicopter that came by, we heard it is because the pilot refused to take off without him." Dr. Goonewardene was also keen to point out that situation warranted the evacuation of the injured as soon as possible and that was carried out in due course, with the usual ratio of evacuation being nine foreign tourists to one local. He also said the four guns on the chopper were reduced to two so that more people at a time could be evacuated. " The former minister's vehicles which were there were used to bring the injured to the place where I was treating them. On the night after the tsunami we were given protection by his security personnel and drivers. The allegations that are going around are totally false and anyway, it's very natural for a man to think of saving his family first" he added. Echoing Dr. Goonewardene's words, his brother-in-law Upali Agalawatte said the former minister did his best according to the circumstances. "No one was left behind. My brother-in-law being a doctor and also being injured, left only in the one before the last helicopter flight the following day. I left in the last one. The medicines, food and water that we received I feel were all thanks to the quick action taken by the former minister," he said. Mr. Agalawatte also said two helicopters took turns in bringing food, medicine, water and other necessities from Ampara, while the return trips were purely for evacuation. "Given the fact that I was still searching for my youngest son and my mother-in-law, I was truly grateful for the aid given to us by everyone," he said. Mr. Bandula Gunawardene, who was with his wife and five sons at the house of a Danish hotel owner, considers it was destiny that saved his family and friends. "We wanted to book into the seaside Danish hotel but it was fully occupied and we were given accommodation at the land side house of the owner. We later heard that everyone at the hotel including the owners had died. We were lucky enough to have a ladder around which helped all 20 of us in the group to get on to the roof from where we witnessed the destruction taking place," he said. Having called Colombo to inform of the situation at Arugam Bay, the group got off the rooftop, after spending 45 minutes on it in relative safety and walked towards Ulla, which is on higher ground. When the first Air Force helicopter arrived, Mr. Gunawardene said he felt children should be given priority. "Everyone was trying to go at once. I said I will stay but the Air Force pilot told me he cannot go without me. This was witnessed by everyone who was there, including the Ulla police OIC," he said. Mr. Gunawardene also said the first flight left his eldest son at Ulla while his younger sons, his wife and himself were airlifted along with two girls who were injured. At the Ampara Air Force base, he had informed the Prime Minister of the ground situation and the PM in turn had given instructions . "You can't make everyone happy. The pilot would have lost his job if he did not obey his instructions to evacuate a VIP. International law also dictates that foreigners be given preference in evacuations," he said, explaining the method that was employed in evacuation. "When the tsunami struck, there was a helicopter flying over the Arugam Bay bridge area and when part of the bridge collapsed the helicopter crew had managed to save some people. I feel that false reports of me and my family were carried to sling mud at me as part of a political move. I was not even wearing a verti at the time as reported in certain media, I was in trousers", Mr. Gunawardene said. |
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