Eyewitness accounts are slowly coming in from Bermudians who were on holiday in Thailand when the tsunami hit on Boxing Day.

The latest news comes from British couple David and Claire Lewis, who own a home in Bermuda and are currently on a round-the-world yacht rally with fellow Bermudians Jim and Lolly Burnett-Herkes.

They were in their hotel room at the Kata Beach Resort at Kata Beach in Phuket when the tsunami hit.

?I heard this terrible noise and rushed onto the balcony to see a wall of water crashing through the ground floor of the hotel. People, garden furniture, deck chairs, tables and trees were just flying through into this great wash. Everyone was screaming,? Mrs. Lewis reported in an e-mail.

?It was frightening to see all that water and junk go washing back out to sea. The bay, which is not tidal, emptied of water and there were eddies swirling around everywhere.?

She said most people scrambled as far inland as possible and she didn?t think anyone was lost from their hotel, but she couldn?t be sure.

?Then came the second wave. At that point I had got out my cell phone and sent a message of RUok? to everyone I had numbers for. From what I can work out the wave had not yet hit Phi Phi and I called a friend on the and it just rang,? she said.

Mrs. Lewis and the Burnett-Herkes were travelling on board the yacht the which was in floating dock at Yacht Haven Marina in Phuket. They?d all spent Christmas night on board the

However, the Burnett-Herkes couple weren?t on board , but had left earlier in the morning to go snorkelling at Maya Beach, a secluded beach where the movie was made several years ago.

Mrs. Lewis said jet skis at Kata went out looking for people who might have been washed out to sea, but the amount of debris in the water was overwhelming.

Continued from Page 1

?We still had a wireless internet connection and David had e-mailed rally control straight away to tell them what had happened and that we were alright,? she said.

The Burnett-Herkes, who were snorkelling at the time, survived the devastation by being washed up on a secluded beach before the first wave hit and had climbed up a rockface.

They had waited several hours for the water to subside before returning to the cove and waiting for help.

Mrs. Lewis said they all spent a terrifying night waiting for more waves to hit, and at about 2 a.m. on December 27 they were woken up when earthquakes hit Phuket.

?The bed was jumping around on the floor for about four minutes, but we each thought we were having bad dreams and didn?t pay too much attention,? she said.

The Lewis and Burnett-Herkes couples, who are now back on board thesaid they would stay in Thailand until January 10 when they sail to Cochin in India.

Mrs. Lewis said Phuket had suffered badly along the coastal areas and the hospitals were overwhelmed.

What amazed them the most was that the centre of the island was unaffected by the devastation and they went shopping for food in a hypermarket.

She said they could even have gone to a movie or spent the day shopping if they had wanted too.

?We know the Press is reporting some desperate conditions in the Indian Ocean area, but this is not true of Phuket Island. Phuket has excellent medical services and apart from the devastation in Patong beach and some of the offshore islands like Phi Phi Don, the island seems to be operating normally,? she said.

She said the blood banks were full and they were turned away because of the overwhelming support they?d had from locals and visitors and they donated clothing instead.

?Thank you for everyone who has been worried about us, we appreciate your concern and and its crew have now survived a major tsunami and a category five hurricane in the Bahamas and we?re been through quite a bit, I think we?ll stay on land for a while.?

Despite their experience in Thailand the Lewis and Burnett-Herkes? couples are planning to finish their round-the-world sailing experience.

According to the Burnett-Herkes? daughter, Susan Canas, who lives in Bermuda, her parents were still thinking about going to the Maldives afterwards, but hadn?t decided yet.

?I spoke to them over the weekend and they?re doing very well, despite everything that?s happened,? she said.

Another young Bermudian who is currently in Thailand is 18-year-old Rotary Exchange Student, Kamel Dickinson from Smith?s Parish.

Mr. Dickinson is in Pattaya, South East of Bangkok and his father, Mervin Dickinson said his son wasn?t effected by the tsunami in any way.

?We did talk to him and he was OK, Pattaya wasn?t effected by the tsunami, but we were a little worried,? he said.

He said Kamel was due to return home in July.