SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Remembering the Asian tsunami ten years on

A DOCUMENTARY about the horrific Asian tsunami of ten years ago will be featured on ITV on Monday (December 22, 2014) night featuring the Simon family from Chilthorne Domer.

Former Preston School and Yeovil College student Piers Simon, 33, was among the 250,000 people who were killed during those horrendous hours of Boxing Day 2004 when a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean created waves of up to ten metres high – travelling at speeds of up to 500 miles per hour.

Piers was with his brother, Luke, and a group of friends holidaying in Thailand when the waves struck.

Luke – along with his parents Henry and Celia – feature in the documentary Tsunami: Survivors’ Stories which will be screened on ITV on Monday (December 22, 2014) at 9pm.

PHOTO - TOP: The giant waves of the tsunami head towards Thailand on Boxing Day 2004 with holiday-makers initially unaware of the horror that was about to unfold.

PHOTO - RIGHT: Piers Simon who was lost in the tsunami of Boxing Day 2004.

While Luke and their friends survived, Piers was swept away and killed by the wave.

Luke, describing the horrifying moment when the tsunami began, said: “One of the guys in our party, he’d grabbed hold of someone, and he’d said, ‘What’s going on?’  And this Thai chap said, ‘Water come, water come.’

“At that point all we could hear was screaming and sort of chaos of people running and shouting. But as soon as someone said, ‘Water coming’, it was like you had turned down the volume of the screaming and turned up the volume of what was coming.”

Luke and Piers were separated from each other in the water and after Luke managed to reach higher ground, his thoughts turned to finding Piers.

Luke said: “I always thought he’d be alright. He’s strong and athletic and he can swim. He’ll have got somewhere and he’ll be tucked in nice and safe. He’ll do what we do. He’ll have the same thought process as I do - let’s get to the higher ground and evaluate.”

PHOTO - RIGHT: Following Piers' death the family formed the Piers Simon Appeal and the School in a Bag project.

For the next few days Luke searched for his brother Piers. He recounts the harrowing moment he visited a makeshift morgue and realised one of the bodies, number 348, was his brother.

In an incredible turn of events, Piers’ rucksack containing personal items was recovered from the sea three months after the tsunami and sent to Luke’s family.

A decade on and Luke and his parents Henry and Celia have set up a charity in Piers’ memory – Piers Simon Appeal and its School in a Bag initiative which sends school bags to disaster affected children worldwide.

Luke and his mum were featured on BBC Breakfast News on Saturday (December 20, 2014) morning as the world prepares to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the tsunami.

Anyone wanting further information about how they can support the PSA and School in a Bag charity - please click on the School in a Bag logo on the right-hand side of this website.

PHOTO - ABOVE: Luke Simon, centre, with his mum and dad Henry and Celia at the Home Farm Music Festival held each year in Chilthorne Domer in aid of the Piers Simon Appeal and the School in a Bag project.

News items about the Piers Simon Appeal and the School in a Bag initiative on the Yeovil Press website are sponsored by Yeovil Guitars and specialist removal firm Chudley International. For more information about Yeovil Guitars and Chudley International – please click on their logo-adverts on the right-hand side of this website.

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