Man who survived 'deadliest tsunami in history' recalls what it was like as first wave hit

A man who survived the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami has described waking up in his bungalow in Thailand just before the first wave struck.

Andrew Chaggar was 27 when he set off on a year-long trip around the world with his partner Nova.

Speaking to LADbible, he said he woke on December 26, 2004, to a shaking bungalow and a noise he can only describe as 'a bit like a jet engine building up for take-off'.

"The bungalow was starting to shake, and that shaking was getting more and more violent," he recalled. Nova was already up, standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"I remember her looking around and saying, 'What's that? What's that noise? What's happening?' I remember her looking quite scared."

According to the British Red Cross, around 230,000 people died in the disaster, with Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand the worst affected.

According to the British Red Cross, around 230,000 people died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. (Photo by Patrick AVENTURIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

How did the first tsunami wave hit Khao Lak?

Chaggar and Nova were staying in a small complex of around 10 bungalows in Khao Lak, about 30 meters from the beach. Because the bungalows sat at right angles to the shore, he said they could not see anything from their window and could only hear the vibrating and the noise.

"We'd been up quite late, so I remember feeling confused," he said. "I literally had just enough time to get up out of bed when the first wave of the tsunami struck the end of the bungalows we were in. It just literally took them down like dominoes."

"Ours was probably about the third or fourth along. I literally remember being in the bungalow and, the next minute, basically waking up in the water," he continued.

He said he does not know whether the impact knocked him out or he was just stunned. "It was almost like being in a washing machine full of nails. There was this incredibly strong current, and there was just no way to swim against it. I was completely at its mercy."

Then came the wreckage from the bungalows themselves. "In the water, there was metal, glass, bricks, probably whole cars and things like that. It was that powerful."

Chaggar and Nova were staying in a complex of around 10 bungalows, about 30 meters from the beach in Khao Lak, Thailand. (LADBIBLE)

How did Andrew Chaggar survive the 2004 tsunami?

Chaggar believes an oil drum hit his head, leaving a scar, before he was washed inland through a hotel building site made up of concrete floors and columns. His left leg became trapped against a pillar, causing the worst of his injuries.

"So, although it caused the worst of my injuries, I think that's fundamentally why I'm alive today," he said, explaining he believes he would otherwise have been pulled out into the bay.

He spent around four hours on the site before two Western men found him and helped him down, despite a shout that another wave was coming.

About six months after the tsunami, police told Chaggar that a partial dental match and a photograph of a necklace he verified as hers confirmed Nova had been killed.

Chaggar went on to found the charity International Disaster Volunteers, which he led for 10 years, and is now married with two young children.