Japanese teenager Misaki Murakami survived the earthquake in March 2011.
But the subsequent tsunami swept his house away and the 16-year old boy lost all of his personal possessions.
Until now.
A technician thousands of kilometres away at a radar station on Alaska's remote Middleton Island has discovered Murakami's treasured soccer ball.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MISAKI MURAKAMI, 16-YEARS-OLD TSUNAMI SURVIVOR AND OWNER OF RECOVERED SOCCER BALL SAYING:
"I would never have imagined that my soccer ball could have travelled thousands of kilometres and made it all the way to Alaska. I was shocked but also I have yet to recover even one of my personal belongings, so I'm really happy about this."
The ball, which he had since elementary school, holds special meaning for Murakami: it was signed by his friends and a teacher who wrote a message wishing him luck when he transferred to a new school.
Much debris set adrift by the tsunami has been found by beachcombers and clean-up crews in Alaska and the Pacific northwest, but Murakami's soccer ball stood out because it had identifying information.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MISAKI MURAKAMI, 16-YEARS-OLD TSUNAMI SURVIVOR AND OWNER OF RECOVERED SOCCER BALL SAYING:
"I want to say thank you very much for taking the time to do all that in recovering it."
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
But the subsequent tsunami swept his house away and the 16-year old boy lost all of his personal possessions.
Until now.
A technician thousands of kilometres away at a radar station on Alaska's remote Middleton Island has discovered Murakami's treasured soccer ball.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MISAKI MURAKAMI, 16-YEARS-OLD TSUNAMI SURVIVOR AND OWNER OF RECOVERED SOCCER BALL SAYING:
"I would never have imagined that my soccer ball could have travelled thousands of kilometres and made it all the way to Alaska. I was shocked but also I have yet to recover even one of my personal belongings, so I'm really happy about this."
The ball, which he had since elementary school, holds special meaning for Murakami: it was signed by his friends and a teacher who wrote a message wishing him luck when he transferred to a new school.
Much debris set adrift by the tsunami has been found by beachcombers and clean-up crews in Alaska and the Pacific northwest, but Murakami's soccer ball stood out because it had identifying information.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MISAKI MURAKAMI, 16-YEARS-OLD TSUNAMI SURVIVOR AND OWNER OF RECOVERED SOCCER BALL SAYING:
"I want to say thank you very much for taking the time to do all that in recovering it."
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
Category
🗞
News