Mr John Mailand, 32
This affected me a lot. I can only hope I have his bravery, courage, and sense of humanity if I'm ever in his shoes.
____________________________
A Brave Dane
Battling raging waves, he saved 10 kids until he himself was swept away by the waves.
By Ben Nadarajan (in Sri Lanka)
As the massive tsunami waves battered battered Sri Lanka's southern coastal resort of Matara, anyone with any sense at all fled.
All, except one strapping Danish tourist with wavy blonde hair.
Hurtling himself against the surf, Mr John Mailand, 32, dashed back to the beach not once, not twice, but six times, witnesses told The Straits Times.
With each trip, he grabbed an armful of stranded children from the waves and cradled them as he sprinted towards a hut on a hill 50m above sea level where everyone else had clustered.
There, he deposited them into the arms of their weeping mothers before charging off again.
At times, he waded through waist-high water. At others, he swam against the currents to reach screams for help.
Unfortunately, the grateful parents never got a chance to thank the "tall, big-sized man with wavy hair" for saving their little ones.
Because on Mr Mailand's sixth foray into the eye of the storm, just as he was trying to extricate a debris-pinned mother and child, a second round of tidal waves scopped down on him and swept him away.
Survivors said they saw the water pummel his bulky frame against a wall and snap his head against the concrete.
His limp body then sunk under the rapidly rising water. His distinct blond turf was the last things anyone saw of him.
Mr Mailand is one of more than 10 Danish nationals still missing and feared dead in Sri Lanka.
Little is known about him, although his heroics have kept the locals busy swopping stories about the brave "white man" who gave up his life to save at least 10 Sri Lanka children in a town he was only visiting for a week.
Madam Preema DeSilva, 34, the mother of a four-year-old girl who kept afloat clinging onto a tree trunk until Mr Mailand scooped her out of the water, described the Dane as a fearless "towering tree".
She told The Straits Times: "Water was everywhere. I was sure I had lost my girl. I was crying and praying when my husband suddenly touched my arm and pointed below."
Trudging up a row of steep steps was Mr Mailand, with Madam Preema's petrified daughter perched on his shoulders and clutching onto his forehead.
As soon as he set her down and patted her hair, he took off.
Said Madam Preema, who cooks in one of the beachside restuarants: "He left so quickly. I wanted to thank him. Without him, my girl would be gone."
Others who witnessed the Dane's bravery said it inspired them to do the same. Before long, several Sri Lankans and a few Caucasians also started running down to the beach to free the stranded.
Dive instructor Samthira Bambang, 42, said: "We were all thanking God that we had escaped the disaster as we thought everyone still down there was probably dead.
"But when the Dane kept coming back with more survivors, we felt ashamed that a foreigner was risking his life to help while we just stood there and did nothing to save our own people."
Australian tourist Harry Conway, 36, also saw Mr Mailand run tirelessly up and down the hill.
"He was almost struck by a floating tree once, but he ducked just in time. He did not seem to fear anything. people were shouting for him to run away when the second wave hit, but he just continued trying to lift the concrete slab off the woman and child. But it was too late," he related.
The town's police chief, Mr Domani Surjami, 48, also piped in with praises.
"He was safe. he could have gone home to his loved ones. But he knew there were others who needed his help. And he gave his life to save people he didn't even know," said Mr Domani. "No one here will ever forget what he did."
____________________________
A Brave Dane
Battling raging waves, he saved 10 kids until he himself was swept away by the waves.
By Ben Nadarajan (in Sri Lanka)
As the massive tsunami waves battered battered Sri Lanka's southern coastal resort of Matara, anyone with any sense at all fled.
All, except one strapping Danish tourist with wavy blonde hair.
Hurtling himself against the surf, Mr John Mailand, 32, dashed back to the beach not once, not twice, but six times, witnesses told The Straits Times.
With each trip, he grabbed an armful of stranded children from the waves and cradled them as he sprinted towards a hut on a hill 50m above sea level where everyone else had clustered.
There, he deposited them into the arms of their weeping mothers before charging off again.
At times, he waded through waist-high water. At others, he swam against the currents to reach screams for help.
Unfortunately, the grateful parents never got a chance to thank the "tall, big-sized man with wavy hair" for saving their little ones.
Because on Mr Mailand's sixth foray into the eye of the storm, just as he was trying to extricate a debris-pinned mother and child, a second round of tidal waves scopped down on him and swept him away.
Survivors said they saw the water pummel his bulky frame against a wall and snap his head against the concrete.
His limp body then sunk under the rapidly rising water. His distinct blond turf was the last things anyone saw of him.
Mr Mailand is one of more than 10 Danish nationals still missing and feared dead in Sri Lanka.
Little is known about him, although his heroics have kept the locals busy swopping stories about the brave "white man" who gave up his life to save at least 10 Sri Lanka children in a town he was only visiting for a week.
Madam Preema DeSilva, 34, the mother of a four-year-old girl who kept afloat clinging onto a tree trunk until Mr Mailand scooped her out of the water, described the Dane as a fearless "towering tree".
She told The Straits Times: "Water was everywhere. I was sure I had lost my girl. I was crying and praying when my husband suddenly touched my arm and pointed below."
Trudging up a row of steep steps was Mr Mailand, with Madam Preema's petrified daughter perched on his shoulders and clutching onto his forehead.
As soon as he set her down and patted her hair, he took off.
Said Madam Preema, who cooks in one of the beachside restuarants: "He left so quickly. I wanted to thank him. Without him, my girl would be gone."
Others who witnessed the Dane's bravery said it inspired them to do the same. Before long, several Sri Lankans and a few Caucasians also started running down to the beach to free the stranded.
Dive instructor Samthira Bambang, 42, said: "We were all thanking God that we had escaped the disaster as we thought everyone still down there was probably dead.
"But when the Dane kept coming back with more survivors, we felt ashamed that a foreigner was risking his life to help while we just stood there and did nothing to save our own people."
Australian tourist Harry Conway, 36, also saw Mr Mailand run tirelessly up and down the hill.
"He was almost struck by a floating tree once, but he ducked just in time. He did not seem to fear anything. people were shouting for him to run away when the second wave hit, but he just continued trying to lift the concrete slab off the woman and child. But it was too late," he related.
The town's police chief, Mr Domani Surjami, 48, also piped in with praises.
"He was safe. he could have gone home to his loved ones. But he knew there were others who needed his help. And he gave his life to save people he didn't even know," said Mr Domani. "No one here will ever forget what he did."
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