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.