A British survivor of the Boxing Day tsunami has recalled the harrowing moment he and his younger brother were swept away from their parents.
This December marks the 20-year-anniversary of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed over 220,000 people. The countries of Indonesia and Thailand amongst the worst affected, which 200,000 people alone killed on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
To mark two decades since the deadly tragedy, National Geographic has created a documentary series Tsunami: Race Against Time, which sees several survivors recount their experiences publicly for the first time.
Watch the trailer for the documentary series below:
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One of the people to feature in the programme is Louis Mullan, a British national who was on holiday in Takua Pa, Thailand with his parents and younger brother Theo.
Recalling where he and his family were on the morning of the tsunami in an interview with Metro, Louis explained how he and Theo were getting ready to go snorkelling when their father pointed out that he'd noticed the sea appeared to be behaving unusually.
Read more: Woman caught up in boxing day tsunami which killed 220,000 speaks out on escaping horrific disaster
"I remember seeing lots of sand and a bubbling, white line in the sea in the distance, but I had no idea what was coming," he explained.
What happened next would change the brothers' lives forever.
Louis, who was 16 at the time, remembered his attempts to take care of his younger brother as they were swept away by the waves and unaware about what had happened to their parents.
"I felt like I had to step up and be the older brother. We didn’t know where our parents were and I had to protect him," he said.
"Theo and I were holding onto each other with the water rushing around us – but we couldn’t hold on any longer. Once I resurfaced, I couldn’t see Theo anywhere."
Louis then remembered being pulled from the waves and into a building where he spent the next hour, before attempting to make it to higher ground. It was here that he would be reunited with 12-year-old Theo.
However, the brothers would never see their parents Catherine Mullan and Leonard Barratt again.
Six weeks after returning home to the UK, Louis and Theo were informed that their parent's bodies had been recovered.
"We knew that it was the reality before we were told, but hearing those words was really difficult," Louis said of the moment.
The brothers were later adopted by another family in Cornwall and make regular trips to a local churchyard on Boxing Day in order to remember their parents.
Tsunami: Race Against Time premieres 25th November at 9pm on National Geographic and will be available for streaming on Disney+ the same day
Topics: Disney Plus, TV, History, Environment
Brenna Cooper