Indian Ocean Tsunami: The body collector's torment 20 years on

AFP English

Djafaruddin still breaks down when thinking about the children orphaned by the world's deadliest tsunami two decades ago. At least 225,000 people were killed when waves unleashed by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake ravaged coastal communities in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Djafaruddin was in one of the worst hit areas, Banda Aceh, and shifted dozens of dead bodies.

Transcript

00:00You

00:30There used to be no walls here, only roadsides.

00:47This is where the bodies were found, mixed with the wood brought by the flood.

00:57The bodies were brought to the dam, where the bodies were buried.

01:07The bodies were brought to the dam, where the bodies were buried.

01:17The bodies were brought to the dam, where the bodies were buried.

01:47I was so sad.

01:50I saw them screaming at night.

01:53They were taking the bodies of their parents.

02:00We tried to talk to them.

02:03We told them that they could meet their parents tomorrow.

02:09We tried to talk to them and give them some advice.

02:15I was so sad for them.

02:18I was so sad for them.

02:39It's impossible to imagine that a tsunami could kill so many people.

02:47It's impossible to imagine that a tsunami could kill so many people.

02:57It's impossible to imagine that a tsunami could kill so many people.

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