Two NZ surfers safe after quake ordeal

Two NZ surfers safe after quake ordeal

Agence France-Presse, Gunung Sitoli, North Sumatra

Two New Zealand surfers who were caught in the earthquake that
hit Indonesia's quake-hit island of Nias arrived safe and sound
in the main city on Thursday, after a six-hour ordeal traveling
from a remote beach.

Bevan Carr, 31, who lives in Sydney and his friend Mark Thorn,
30, called relatives and their embassy shortly after arriving in
Gunung Sitoli from the northwestern beach village of Afulu.

Carrying only the clothes on their backs and their passports,
the two surfers were due to catch a flight to mainland Indonesia
on Friday before returning to their homes.

"It is absolutely mind blowing what has happened there," said
Bevan, shortly after arriving in Gunung Sitoli.

Earlier on Thursday, a helicopter mission hunting for missing
foreign surfers found 12, including Americans, Britons,
Canadians, French, Germans and Swedes on a beach in the island's
south.

Meanwhile, an Australian man feared dead in the 8.7 magnitude
earthquake that hit Indonesia told on Thursday how his boat was
tossed around on surging ocean currents during a frightening two-
hour ordeal near the undersea quake's epicenter.

Marcus Keesham told ABC radio his ship rocked violently up and
down, with debris surging back and forth past the vessel while he
and his companions were thrown around the boat.

Keesham had been sailing with two friends between the islands
worst hit by the quake -- Nias and Simeulue -- and was about 100
kilometers north of the epicenter when the quake hit.

"We were down below in the saloon watching a movie and we felt
some very strange movement for about two minutes," Keesham said.

"The boat rose and fell really sharply.

"We asked the crew what was happening and they said
'earthquake'.

"We were obviously worried about a tsunami."

Eerily, the waters became still shortly after the quake so the
three went back to watching their movie.

"About 20 minutes later, the water started rushing, like, with
incredible force, probably 10 or 15 knots' current moving in one
direction," Keesham said.

"The boat was dragging anchor. The current moved (with) a 180
degrees swing.

"Then it happened again, the third time the current changed.

"It rushed for 20 minutes. Big waves. It was like we were
motoring along."

Between surges, the seas went deadly calm before starting up
again, Keesham said.