Tongan man survives 27 hours at sea after tsunami

A 57-year-old Tongan man being hailed a real-life Aquaman for surviving 27 hours at sea after Saturday’s devastating tsunami struck his island said he went under nine times before latching onto a log and making it to safety.

“On the eighth time I thought, the next time I go underwater that’s it, because my arms were the only things that were keeping me above water,” Lisala Folau, who is disabled and cannot walk properly, told Reuters from Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa.

Lisala Folau (middle) says he swam for 27 hours after getting swept to sea by Saturday's tsunami.

“So the ninth time I went under and came up and grabbed a log. And that’s what kept me going.”

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano killed at least three people and sent tsunami waves rolling across the Tongan archipelago, damaging villages and resorts and knocking out communications for the nation’s 105,000 people.

Folau, who lived on the isolated island of Atata, with a population of about 60 people, was swept out to sea on Saturday evening.

He had climbed a tree to escape a first wave but when he got down, another big wave swept him out.

“I could hear my son calling from land but I didn’t want to answer my son because I didn’t want him to swim out to find me,” said Folau.

Roads are damaged in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, after a massive underwater volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami, in this photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.

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“The waves kept twirling around here and there … What came to mind is, at sea there is life and death. Until you reach the shore, then you know if you are alive or dead.”

Folau said he slowly managed to swim 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) to the main island of Tongatapu, reaching the shore 27 hours later on Sunday night.

His heroics have gone viral on social media, with one Facebook post calling him a “real life Aquaman”, referring to the comic book and film character.

When asked if he knew who Aquaman was, Folau said he didn’t yet.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the events.

Atata, about 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) northwest of Nuku’alofa, or a 30-minute boat ride, has been almost entirely destroyed in the tsunami that hit the islands.