| Photos of 2-Year-Old Tsunami Victim in Khao Lak, Thailand | |||
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| Netlore Archive: Emailed images of a 2-year-old tsunami victim found battered and bruised but alive in Khao Lak, Thailand | |||
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Email example contributed by Xavier D., 4 January 2005:
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Dear Friends, Please take a look at the attached picture of this victim from Tsunami. If you do not know him, please forward his pictures to your friends or organization in your country for further publication. This boy is about 2 years old. Found and taken from Khao Lak Resort Area, the southern part of Thailand. His parents are missing. His nationality & identity cannot be identified. Please contact Dr. Anuroj Tharasiriroj of Phuket International Hospital
Phone: +66 76 249-400,
I thank you all for extending kindness to this boy.
With kind regards,
Tess Ruktapurana
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Comments: Thanks to timely Internet postings, the 2-year-old boy pictured above, Hannes Bergstroem, is now safe in the arms of his Swedish family. The photos were spotted on the Web by the child's uncle, who rushed to Phuket International Hospital to collect the young tsunami victim. The entire family, including Hannes' father, mother, brother and grandparents, had been vacationing in southern Thailand when the December 26, 2004 tsunami struck, separating the boy from his relatives. His mother, Suzanne Bergstroem, is still listed among the missing.
The pictures were originally posted on the Phuket International Hospital's Website then replicated on hundreds of other sites after being circulated via forwarded email.
The location where the boy was found, Khao Lak, is misspelled "Khoa Lak" in some variants.
Update: The photo of another young tsunami victim, a 10-year-old German girl, is also circulating via email. She has been identified and returned to her homeland, though her parents remain missing.
Sources and further reading:
Swedish Boy Is Reunited with Father in Thailand
Associated Press, 29 December 2004Search for Tsunami Survivors Goes Online
Associated Press, 29 December 2004The Net Recovers Toddler Believed Lost
The Age, 30 December 2004
Last updated: 01/06/04
