Michael Mangal, serial number 103 on the list of missing or dead, has been found alive on the tiny deserted island of Pillow Panja. The tsunami survivor was discovered by the Indian Navy 25 days after being thrown by the Indian Ocean near the epicentre of the earthquake. For the past month the Nicobarese man has been surviving on coconuts after landing on a remote island in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. On Friday, he was rescued wearing only his underwear and waving a cloth made from the rest of his clothes.

The tale of survival reached Port Blair, the capital of the islands and the region's only city, on Saturday as authorities slowly established communication links with faraway islands.

Michael Mangal was first sucked into the sea by "Killer Waves" and then thrown back onto the shore.

This lone survivor was rescued 750 miles from the Indian mainland, after the crew of a rescue dinghy saw him waving a flag made of his clothes.

At least 1,894 Nicobarese people were killed by the December 26th 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Around 7,500 island people died where the population was more than 356,000.

The majority of the people are from the Nicobarese tribe who usually live on the coast.

Before the tsunami, the Nicobarese had approximately 30,000 members, accounting for about one-tenth of the archipelago's population.

At least 5,553 remain missing.

Rescue and relief have been slow in coming to the islands mainly because all the harbor jetties were destroyed.

'Miracles Do Happen'

Most of the 36 inhabitated islands in a chain of hundreds of islands can only be reached by sea.

The Nicobarese tribesman who has been discovered is said to be exhausted but only slightly injured.

"He was in his underwear and had used his clothes to make the flag," navy spokesman Salil Mehta told French news agency AFP.

The rescuers, who had gone to Machal island with four Shompens, found Michael and took him to Campbell Bay on January 19.

"He was exhausted and weak when the rescue team brought him back to Port Blair," Mr. Mehta said.

He is undergoing treatment at the primary health center for a minor leg injury which he suffered when the tsunami hit.

Mr. Mangal told the rescue team he had searched "high and low" for people from his devastated village.

He ran to higher ground and eventually made his way to a deserted village.

There he found a small axe and survived on coconuts till he was found.

He said he had sat on a tree for several days and nights as he was afraid of being "swallowed by the ocean".

It was one of the few pieces of good news in the Indian Ocean where as many as 225,000 died after a magnitude 9 earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered the tsunami on December 26th 2004.

"Miracles do happen," said Rashid Yusuf, president of the Nicobarese Youth Association, which has helped survivors reach the safety of relief camps.

Where Tom Hanks acted the part of a man stranded on a deserted island in Robert Zemeckis' movie Cast Away Mangal actually lived it.

Perhaps Mr. Mangal would lend his experiences to a Cast Away II?

I imagine there are many who would love to know is whole story and how he did it.

About The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India.

The name Andaman comes from Handuman which is Malay for the Hindu god Hanuman.

The name Nicobar is Malay for land of the naked (people).

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the Indian Ocean, in the southern reaches of the Bay of Bengal.

They are separated by the 10° N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north, and the Nicobars to the south.

The capital of this territory is the city of Port Blair.

The native tribal languages include: Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.

Governments and private groups around the world have pledged more than $7 billion in relief funds to tsunami victims.

Tsunami Relief In Other Parts of The World

In Britain, top stars of rock, pop and classical music packed a Welsh stadium to help raise money for tsunami victims at Britain's biggest charity concert in 20 years. Together, they raised $1.9 million for Asian tsunami relief.

Performers included Eric Clapton, "Voice of An Angel" artist, Charlotte Church and the band Manic Street Preachers.

Meanwhile, NBC Universal announced that its live Tsunami Aid concert on January 15th raised $18.3 million for the Red Cross International Response Fund.

How You Can Help

Goods: If you have goods that you believe may be useful to the relief and recovery efforts, you can register your appropriate donations to meet humanitarian needs with the Center for International Disaster Information at:

The Center for International Disaster Information is coordinating in-kind offers on behalf of USAID.

If the materials can be used, a representative from the Center for International Disaster Information will contact you.

Services: USA Freedom Corps states that volunteer opportunities in disaster settings are extremely rare, and are usually limited to people with prior disaster experience and technical skills (such as health, engineering, etc).

Cash: The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is through monetary donations to humanitarian organizations that are providing disaster relief services in the affected region.

Visit the USA Freedom Corps website to learn more and donate now:

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "not giving up hope" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King

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