Monday, January 10 2005 11:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: After they were written off from the list of survivors, 11 tribals escaped the giant tidal waves in the remote Little Nicobar Island, clutching to trees and living on just green coconut water for a fortnight before they were rescued yesterday (Jan 10, 2005) by a group of intrepid securitymen.

A group of police and CRPF (Central reserve Police Force) personnel, led by ACP in Delhi's Tilak Nagar locality Omvir Singh Vishnoi, located the Nicobarese tribals alive behind a tree at village Lunur of Nicobar Island at the southernmost tip of India, Vishnoi said from Campbell Bay Island.

Those rescued include males and females including seven-year-old Rowshni who lost his parents and all his brothers and sisters to the Tsunami that had struck Andaman and Nicobar Islands on December 26.

Vishnoi, who has gone to Campbell Bay on deputation for rescue and relief operations, said that the Army and Air force had declared that there is no survivor in Little Nicobar Island.

"But we took a chance and were determined to get there after some tribals reported having spotted survivors. Some policemen, including myself, some CRPF along with some local tribal men sailed on a boat MV Shompen yesterday morning to the Island.

"After several hours of search, we located the 11 tribals hiding behind a tree at Lunur village at around 15:30 hrs (IST) Vishnoi said.

Many of the 11 tribals, including 35-year-old Matthew, rescued have lost their family members to the killer waves, Vishnoi said. The wife of Matthew and their two daughters were devoured by the waves.

Quoting the survivors, Vishnoi said that the rescued 11 people said only those who managed to scamper to an elevated landmass or hung on grimly to trees managed to escape the Tsunami clutches.

These people fed themselves on nothing but the water of a few green coconuts that hung from a few trees left unscathed by the waves, the ACP said.

"This is indeed a remarkable example of the survival instinct of human beings," he added.