"Hello?" "Hello?" "Christ." "Help!" "Over here!" "Help!" "I couldn't find any of you." "How far did we drift?" "It was about a kilometer maybe." "That's some freaky pull." "You couldn't see anything, just a load of bubbles." "I reckon he probably got drunk" " and fell asleep on his lilo." " We're too far out." "Jesus!" "Christ." "We've come too far down." "We must have." "That's the hotel." "John, John!" "Martha, where are you?" "Hurry up, there may be another wave." "No no no!" "Wait!" "Ian!" "John!" "Dad, Dad!" "Ian!" " Dad!" " John!" "Martha!" "Ian!" "Oh my God." "Martha..." "Ian!" "Daddy" " Daddy." "Hey, you." " You forgot to post the paychecks." " Oh no, I did it today." "Don't worry." "Look at that." "What do you think, sweetheart?" "Look at that." "What do you think, baby?" "Listen, take her." "I'm just going to check in." "Right." "What's first?" "What are we doing first?" " Swimming." " Swimming." "You have the passports, darling?" "Stop it." "Adam, help your brother." "Sa-wat dee kha." "Excuse me, I was about to" "Uh..." "That's fine." "Go ahead." " Are you sure?" " Yeah." "Merry Christmas." " Carters." " Yes, thank you." " Don't embarrass me." " Chill, Mom." "Come on, bring the bags." "Hi!" "Sorry, I'm late." "Hey, hey..." "what are you doing?" "You've lost a button." "Than!" "Get those plates to table two." "Yes, ma'am." "Cheers, my darling." "One two three" "Wobbly custard." "Oh, that's great." "That'll make Granddad jealous." "I told you this would be more fun than skiing." "I'm telling you again, we came here to dive." "Shit." "Thank you." "Okay okay." "I'll go diving." "Are you sure they have a mask that fits you?" "Not too early." "You shouldn't tease him like that." "It's his holiday too." "Two weeks in a luxury resort-- that boy's got nothing to complain about." "Oh, no no no." "Not that one." "I think that's us." " I don't think Daddy likes that music." " Yeah, let's go." "You won't get up in time." "What?" "Are you scared of the water?" "No, I'm not scared of the water" " I told you." " You're just like Dad." " What?" " Seriously, no" " Come with me." "No..." "What do you reckon?" "Ooh." "No rush hour and you get to see dolphins." "Go on, you go." "I left my snorkel at home anyways." "Yeah?" "Just... don't get eaten by sharks." " There aren't any sharks." " Oh yeah." "Whale sharks." "Native to Thailand." "Also known as blah chalalam nah." "Hey hey hey." "No no no." "If you watched a little bit more TV, see-  you'd know." " Blah belplsey?" "No no no-- blah chalalam nah." "Blah blah blah." " Hello, friend." " Hi, hi." " Not in bed yet?" " No-- just listening to the radio." " I'm on my way home." " Good night then." "Grandma..." "You stink of fried fish." "Give me your shirt to wash." " I have something for you." " Thank you." "You're up early!" "Hurry up-- you have to go to school." " Thank you, Grandma." " Have a good day." "Goodbye." "Hurry-- eat up and then you can go to school." "That's kind of doing it for me actually." "Oh, no ice cream before lunch." "What are you on about?" "Beach equals ice cream." "That's like toast without butter." "No, I'm not talking about Martha." "No no." "You've got to be kidding." "Oh, who are they?" "That's us swimming in the sea." "Oh yeah?" "Where are the sharks?" " Shh." " Come on." "Teeth." " Right, I'm off." " All right." "In front." "In back." "Hello." " Am I late?" " Don't worry, it's okay." "What are you looking at?" "Come on-- clear the tables." "Excuse me." "Could we wait for my husband please?" "Sorry, we really have to get going." "Great." " Hi, hello." " Hi." " Hello." " Hello." "Bye, Mommy." "Bye, Mommy." "So we're going to say hello to Mommy." " Mommy!" " Hello hello." " Hello, Mommy." " Bye bye." "Come on, hurry up!" "You gonna say hello to Granddad?" " Hello, Granddad." " Hello, Granddad." "The fish are all funny." "Yeah." " Daft buggers." " Buggers?" "Hey, don't let your mother hear you say that, okay?" "Come on, oh, seriously." "Seriously, all right?" "Let's go get your water wings." "John!" "Why the hell didn't Mom wake us?" " She did but we ignored her." " What?" "What's happened to the sea?" "It's cool." "What fish is Nemo?" " Well, he's blue so" " Orange." " Well, he's blue so" " Orange!" " Hi." " Good morning." " I'd have Nemo with chips." " No, Daddy." "A little bit of ketchup." "Oh..." "What's happening, Daddy?" "Daddy Daddy?" "Come on!" "Get in, get in!" "Come on!" "Daddy, Daddy." "Don't let go!" "Don't let" "Martha!" "Hold on!" "Martha, hold on!" "Daddy!" " Daddy!" " Martha, hold on!" " Hold the tree!" " Daddy, save me!" "Hold it, Martha!" "Hold the" " Daddy!" " Hold the tree!" "Grab the tree!" "Grab the tree!" "Hold on, Martha!" "That's it, baby!" "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Hold on, baby!" "Hold on!" "Hold tight!" " Mommy!" " Hold on, Marth" "Guys, guys." "A bit of hush in the back." "Thank you." "So I've asked myself, how is it that I've ended up lumbered with you lot over Christmas?" "I mean, what a ragbag collection of waifs and strays we are." "You know, we're going to be found out one of these days." "I mean, just look at it." "As many of you know, my ex-wife used to say," ""You might as well be married to the job."" "All I can say is it's been a very happy affair." "And it's time for some thank yous:" "To the lovely Sue, for keeping my diary in shape;" "And to all of you who are committed to working so hard with the people of Thailand." "I certainly couldn't do my job without you." "So to those of us" " who haven't skived off on holiday..." " Hi." "...I'd like to raise my glass of festive fizz and wish you all a very happy Christmas." "Happy Christmas!" "Alec, this is Tom Philips, who's recently joined us." "Hello, Tom." "Nice to meet you." "Lovely children, they're from the coastal villages." "Aren't they fantastic?" "Absolutely charming." "I think the... little one's meant to be the evil twin." "Will you excuse me?" "Reports are sketchy, but it seems to have hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka first." " Bev?" " Drafting in everyone she can." "The phones have gone ballistic." "And here, Patong and possibly Krabi." "Ah, I've already had calls from CNN, BBC World, and uh" " Put London straight through." " Sir." "Robert, Christine, both Peters are out of the country." "Daniel and his girlfriend are on holiday." "Well, call him in." "We're gonna need his input on this." "No one's answering." "They were staying near Phuket." "We're gonna need more phone lines." "Get one of Hanuman's boys to set that up as soon as possible." "The emails coming in have crashed the system." "London... line one." "Mark?" "What have you got for me?" "Yes, I'm just looking." "Christ." "Yeah?" "Nick, Nick, turn on the TV." "Some kind of wave's hit the south." "Chaku Chak Park, 10 minutes, okay?" "Suk?" "Simone wants us to cover it." "Simone fired me, right?" "You got your job back." "It's Christmas." "I swung it." "Don't be late, they're closing the airport." "Where are we going?" "Phuket." "Look, I'm serious, don't be late, okay?" "Ah." "Help" "Help me!" "Martha!" "Somebody help me!" "Martha!" "Higher ground." "We have to go higher ground." " Martha!" " Maybe second wave coming." "There more wave." "Martha!" "Everything gone." "Run, run!" "We must get to safe place." "She was holding the tree." "Martha!" "They have gone to higher ground." "Please?" " If it come again" " Martha!" "Martha!" "Martha!" "Martha!" "We take Jim's car." "Bev, Sue and the others will follow." "You sure there's no way we can fly?" "The runway at Phuket's been hit pretty bad." "They've cleared a section." "There's a couple of flights leaving Bangkok as we speak but you won't make it." "I think the plan is to shut it down completely until they're sure it's safe to land." "Oh, Kathy, Kathy Graham, Rama Kids." "Ah, you head up the Education Outreach." "Yeah." "Which brought you your entertainment today." "Yeah, we're working with villages all along the Phuket coastline." "We don't know how many of them have been hit yet." "Joe, I'll drive." "I can't get through to any of my colleagues down there." "12 hours is the best I can do." "Well, 11 if you know the back roads." "You will need to do press along the way, sir." "BBC want a live link." "Rama Kids, that a Christian organization?" "Mm-hmm." "But I promise no smells, bells or songs for the duration of the journey." "Come on?" "All right." "Okay, let's get going." "Yes, sir!" "You can't mess this one up, Nick." "Simone's still sore from Burma." "She really made me sweat to get you this gig." "All right." "It was one lost weekend." "It was a month." "I bailed you." " What, are you still sore at me?" " Yeah." " Thank you, sir." " Thank you very much." "She..." "Where is it?" "Have to get away." "If the wave come again" "I can't just leave her!" "Martha!" "Martha?" "Martha!" "Please... please... my son." "Jesus Christ." "John." "John." "He need to go to hospital." "John." "Please?" "My wife... was in the water." "I have to find them." "No, I have to find them." "They look for you on higher ground." "Everyone moving to higher ground." "John." "One, two..." "One, two, three!" "Where are they?" "One, two..." "Susie!" "Susie!" "Were you with my wife?" "Khao Lak?" "On the boat?" "Khao Lak!" "Were you on the boat?" " Was there any kind of warning sign?" " You could hear it." "Like lots and lots of crashing glass." "We just ran." "And you said that the wave...?" "The wave was high." "Three-- three floors, something like that." "Mm-hmm." "Hang on one sec." " Simone?" " Welcome back." "No fuckups this time." "Yeah." "Hang on a sec." "Yeah, Phuket Airport, scenes of exodus synonymous with a war-torn country;" "Evacuation flights so far being laid on only by the Thais." "Nothing in or out until the end of the day." "There's talk of another wave, currently unfounded, though it looks like this one ricocheted down the coast." "Uh, we're talking..." "10 feet." "15 feet." "Maybe more, actually." "Z.N.P. are reporting figures of 10, maybe 20 were students?" "Z.N.P. are talking out of their ass." "We're the first foreign press down here." "There's a couple of local news crews." "They got some interviews." "Okay, I want casualty figures, numbers of dead." "Nick?" "Simone?" " Nick!" " My cell's fucked." "What's that?" "Best I could do." "Come on, get in." "Phuket's the nearest hospital." "Get some shots over there." "Stop leaning so far back, you're pulling us over." "Shut up and drive." "You-- you served us at the hotel, yeah?" "I was with my daughter." "She's-- she's about this high." "Cocoa Pop, banana... play under table." "Yeah." "I told her to hold on." "She was holding on." "My wife..." "was diving." "If she was in the water between 9:00 and 10:00 then..." "What was it?" "I don't even know what it was." "He need to drink." "There you go." "My son..." "John." "How is John?" "My wife." "She was with Adam." "We need to get back to the main road." "He has to get to a hospital." "You must have relatives." "I have to find my family." " Nice deep breath." " Come on." "You need someone to look at that cut." "My village back there." "My grandmother won't leave without me." "You get to hospital, look for wife and daughter." "See ya." " Than." " Thank you." "Has anybody seen my wife?" "She's dark-skinned." "She's got curly hair, about 5'9"?" "My daughter, uh..." "Martha, Martha Carter." "She-- uh, she's six years old." "I left her holding a tree in Khao Lak." "She was wearing a pink swimming costume." "Picked up baby on the truck ahead." "About six years old?" "Yeah, about six." "That's her." "We're-- we're on our way down right now." "There's a Liverpudlian man, he can't locate his wife or his son." "Well, perhaps you can find a contact point?" "I'm being told Phuket town hall." "Now how far are you from the--?" "Well, perhaps if you can find a hotel?" "Yes, I see." "Yeah, I'm sorry." "I" " I am truly sorry," "I don't know what you do tonight." "Until our systems are in place, it's impossible for us to" "I can't afford to deal with everyone individually." " We'd get nowhere." " Hang on." "Here he is." "Who is it?" "Ah, Miles, hi." "I'll go this way." " Simone?" " The main cellphone networks are down." " Where are you?" " Phuket" " Phuket Hospital." "Okay, what you got?" "A number of Westerners dead." "I counted... 20 already." "I got thr-- three kids-- one, two, three, four, five-- nine women, and... well, the rest are men." "Age range between 20 and a couple of really old guys." "Hey." "Yeah, thanks." "Red Cross." "Just drafting in backup." "Nick, Nick!" "Whoa." "Sorry." "I couldn't hold on to him." "I couldn't." "It came up to the third floor." " Where were you, love?" " Khao Lak." "In Khao Lak?" "Oasis Hotel, Khao Lak." "Chai?" "It's Khao Lak!" "The relief's getting in, why can't we?" "What are you hiding from us, mate?" "Here." "Anybody here lose family?" "Anybody here lose family?" "Are you from an embassy?" "My-- my daughter, Martha Carter." "She's been seen in a truck up ahead, and my wife Susan Carter." "I haven't found her yet." "Are you from an embassy?" "Did anybody actually see the wave hit?" " Are you press?" " Yeah." "Go away." " Go away!" " Chai?" "Chai?" "Hey!" "Hey hey!" "Jesus Christ." "Have you seen my grandmother...?" " My sister's children?" " I found it." "I found it..." "Ya?" "Help... we need help." " Please help us" " It's okay..." "I'll get someone." "I'll get you some help." "Hey!" "Easy, we're press." "We're press." "Let's go, let's go!" "Nick!" "Let's go." "Nick, come on!" "Nick!" "Nick, come here." "You okay?" "Ah!" "Let's go." "Nick, come on!" "Ahhhh!" "Jesus." "Where are they taking them?" "I don't know." "Come on, come on." "We've been at the hospital." "They told us to come here." "Check your list again." "I'm looking for my father, James Robert Peabody." "11th of the 11th, '60." "And my brother John David Peabody." "10th of the 9th, '88." "It's useless." " Look at this place." " Adam." "We just need to keep searching." "Adam, don't-- excuse me." "Be careful." "I'll just be a minute." "I'll just be a minute." "I'm gonna check something." "There, Nick, over there." "Chai." "Jesus." "It stinks." "You count Westerners, I'll count Thai." "Okay okay." "Come on, man, have some respect." "Your phone-- what network are you on?" "How much?" "To buy your SIM-card?" "No." "No no no!" "No, you can't do this." "You can't burn these people." "You can't burn these people." "Do their-- do their family know?" "Do their family know?" " You okay?" " Take a photo!" "Take a photo, they're burning people!" "They're burning..." "Jesus." "Chai, take a picture." "Chai, take the fucking picture." "Have you identified these people?" "Have you told their families?" "They're trying to stop infection." "There's too many of them." "Just take the fucking picture, Chai." "There's plenty of shots around the front." "Take the fucking picture." " Take the fucking" " Give it back, Nick!" " Give it back." " Fuck you." " Give it back." " Fuck!" "For fuck's sake." "This is what they do, Nick." "They're monks." "What difference does that make?" "Nothing's moving." "The driver thinks there is a small clinic in the hills." "In the other way." "They may have a doctor there." "No no, he needs a proper hospital." "He needs proper medical" "We should leave him here, at the temple." "No." "They're burning bodies." "He won't be safe here." "His family... they'll wanna bury him." "I have to find my family." "Make sure he's okay." "His name's James." "He was staying at the Khao Lak Oasis." "Don't leave him here." "Oliver!" "Go!" "Run!" "Run!" "The police are here!" "It's just milk!" "It's not for me." "I'm heading back to my village." "There are people trapped..." "I can't find anyone to help." "You've been stealing from the tourists?" "No-- they're my grandmother's..." "They took her body away." "I'm looking for my wife." "Oh..." "I-I" " I saw... a bed, it was empty." "Where do I go?" "Ah..." "Hang on a sec." "They're burning unidentified bodies, Simone." "I saw... a woman, a child." "I saw two men." " Westerners?" " Yeah, Thais, too." "There's 50 or 60 bodies lined up, ready to go." " Okay, Chai got shots?" " Yeah, we'll send them to you now." "Shots from the beach, give her those." "Back off, Nick." "They're burning Westerners, Chai." " They're dead." " I got the shot." " It's my camera." " Those people have families, Chai." "You felt the heat today." "The monks have to protect the living, and those bodies will spread infection." "Yeah well, we like our bodies in a box." "It's more than just a souvenir to take home." "Families like to gather together, say goodbye maybe even say the odd prayer." "It's what we call a funeral." "Don't patronize me." "We syndicate that shot" " It's a good shot." " It says we don't care." "You don't get it because you don't live your life like we do." "To us, the body is just a vessel, what carries us through this life." "And when it dies, the spirit's released into the next." "I'm sorry, Chai." "You saw the monks helping people." "You saw them praying." "But who cares about that as long as you get the shot?" " It'll stop it." " People will look at that shot, and even though it's fine for you to come here for holidays and drop your tabs on the beach and love the food, yeah?" " That shot" " It'll make governments listen." "It slams us right back into the Third World, and that's fine for you." "You're not Thai." "I need a photo of my wife and daughter." "I'm sorry?" "I need to use a phone." "Oh." "Here you go." "I sent one to my dad yesterday." "Want me to do that for you?" " It's U.K.?" " Yeah." "It's London." "0-2-0-7" "Mm-hmm." "Now it's ringing." "Hi, Dad." "Right." "BBC, CNN, Asian News, they're all here." "Grab your powder puffs, ladies." "Right, we need to get our office set up." "Tony?" "I'll set up a press briefing, A.S.A.P." "No, I'd like to hit the hotel first." "Maybe a quick debrief." "Make sense of how we're gonna coordinate things." "You're kidding, right?" "Tony, you're not going to be seeing a hotel room for quite awhile." "They have it upstairs." "Okay?" "Well, the Aussies look pretty settled." "Where do we sit?" "I think people have got a grip on what's actually happened here." "Excuse me, excuse me." "Joe, clear all that stuff, will you?" "Are you from the British consul?" "Look, we're gonna need some sort of flag" " Helen!" " Maybe some notepaper." "And coffee-- I'm gonna need coffee." "Where the fuck have you been?" "I lost my son and my daughters." "All right, all right, one at a time, please." "Just one at a time." "Joe, Joe, Joe!" "What's your name, sir?" "We're-- we're gonna need some more volunteers." "All right, all right, please" "Thanks." "We were just standing on the beach." "We went back 'cause-- my wife... she always wants her to wear her water wings." "She was holding on to a tree." "She's only six, but she's-- she's got a real strong grip." "What do you think?" "She was holding on to a tree." "I'd say your kid's still alive." ""I'd say your kid's still alive"?" "...arriving here in the disaster zone." "Britain's representative, Tony Whittaker, arrived early this morning, and is here with me now." "Do you as yet have any figure as to how high the death toll could climb?" "It's really too early to say, but what is clear is that this is a catastrophe for Thailand, and indeed the whole of the Andaman Coast." "Right now, we're trying to assess which areas have been worst hit." " Khao Lak looks very bad." " Are you aware that bodies are being burned in the temple just outside of there?" " There are a number of rumors" " No, I've seen the bodies." "Westerners and Thais being cremated without identification." "I" " I'm following it up." "But, it's my understanding that no Western bodies are being cremated." "Their focus is very much on the identification, preservation and return" " of those bodies to loved ones." " The Thai government" "That's really all we have time for." "There's a lot to do." "Get London on the phone." "Excuse me?" "Excuse me, I'm-- we're" " I'm trying to find my husband and my son, but nobody-- nobody seems to know where we should be." "Have you tried talking to your tour operator?" "I don't have a tour operator." "We organized this holiday ourselves." "We're hoping to arrange some evacuation flights, but at the present it's impractical." "Is that Mark?" " Uh" " Mark?" "Nice one, Mom." "If you can head back to Krabi," "I'll head up as far North as I can." "Let's cover five villages each today." "That's fifteen between us." "Hi, Kathy speaking." "Mm-hmm?" "I'm looking for my father and my brother." "Here, take this." "I don't want a bar of soap." "Adam, look, calm down." "They could be dead." "Hey hey." "I don't need a bar of soap." "No, but you do need some sleep." "Across the street and to the left, they've opened up the college gym." "You can get a bed and a hot shower." "You should take all you can right now." "You don't know how long it's gonna last." "Thank you, thanks." "It's James... sorry." "It's okay." "James Robert Peabody." "11th of the 11th, 1960;" "and John David Peabody, 10th of the 9th, '88." "Yes, they're on the list." "Okay." "Thank you." "Next, please." "We're moving." "Joe's found us a proper office around the corner with air conditioning." "You got room for another one?" "It's really just for U.K. use." "I've got 600 children missing, Tony." "So far I know 12 of them are still alive." "It's a bit rough and ready." ""Chaos is a friend of mine."" "It's Bob Dylan." "So what are you saying?" "No one's picking up the story." "You're kidding me?" "There are no Westerners on the photo." "There was a woman, she had light brown hair... she's probably European." "Yeah, she looks black, bloody and dead." "Look, your word isn't enough for anyone to print it." "It's too risky." "They're burning Thais." "Adds up to the same thing." "They're incinerating people without identification." "It's been stopped." "Someone yelled at the Thais." "Reuters just tipped me off." "The story's done." "Move on." "People need evidence." "I gave you evidence." "Next Christmas I'm going to Malibu." "This is a 20-minute walk." "15 if you're brisk." "You're not worried that people won't be able to find you?" "Phone sockets, internet points." "We've got more volunteers arriving tomorrow." "They'll need every line." "We can field calls, relatives can make "missing" posters." "You'll need a contact point in every hospital." "Yeah, I think if we make this our base..." "Khao Lak is over an hour away." "It's a long way to walk if you've lost your family and all your money and don't speak Thai." "Just an observation." "Good good." "If you want to get some tea going?" "Call's just come through." "Attaché's arriving at 4:00." "Hello?" "Yeah." "I'm lost." "Come." "Come sit down." "I need to get back to my village!" "There are people trapped..." "Please..." "Please let me out." "Is this it?" "Came through from your dad." "Shall I?" "They're some of my kids." "I work with an education program, mainly in the fishing villages." "Those are the ones we've found so far." " That's good." " It's a start." "Maybe you should try and get some sleep?" "Ian!" "Oh my God!" "Susan!" "Susan, I thought you were dead." "I thought" " I thought you-- I thought you were dead." "The boat came back, everything was gone." "Everything-- the chalet, the hotel, it was all gone." "Where's Martha?" "Where's Martha?" "She was with you." "We were-- we were coming back to the hotel." "She got hold of a tree," "I don't know where she is." "No no, she's alive." "Susan, Martha's" " Martha's alive." "This guy, he said he saw her, just outside" " What guy saw her?" " This guy." "She wasn't letting go." "Nothing was gonna make her let go, see?" "She's alive." "We're gonna find her." "Baby..." " never leave me again." " No." "You never leave me." "Oh no." "We're gonna find her, baby." "We're gonna find her." " Hi, Ralph." " Hey, Nick." "Ron." "Wanker." "Here." "Thanks." "How come is all the palm trees still standing and the buildings are gone?" "There you are." "Do we have a rebuilt timeline?" "Too early to tell." " You've got figures?" " 700 missing." "At Khao Lak Oasis, the occupancy was around 300." "Jesus." "I need to get more information." "Right." "Let's go." " Let's go." " I'm not done." "You okay?" "Here." "Put some of this around your nose." "It helps with the smell." "Thanks." "Ellen." "Ellen Webb." "I work for S.Q.A. Hotels, managing their properties down here." "Nick Fraser, East Asia Press." "I was just here a couple of weeks ago." "We've got hotels all over the world, but this place" "Mm." "this was really special." "People come here to forget the shit in their lives and then this happens." "700 missing guests, that's a lot of unpaid room service, isn't it?" "That's not what I meant." "Will you be offering some kind of compensation package?" "I just manage the properties." "I just gotta-- I've just gotta see someone." " Hi." " Hi." "We were staying at the same hotel." "Yeah." "Everyone is calling this a natural disaster." "I don't know what's natural about something that flips the world on its head." "People monitor earthquakes, don't they?" "It doesn't make sense." "Your husband's dead." "He, um, he died en route to the hospital." "Yesterday." "About... it was late." "I don't know where his body is." "I had to leave him just north of Khao Lak." "I'm sorry." "Mom!" "There's a John Peabody at Takua Pa Clinic." "He's injured, but" "Please... don't tell my son yet." "Please." "We're going that way." "Someone said they're burning the bodies." "What do you mean?" "The monks." "They're trying to clear space." " There's too many dead" " Adam." "Stop it." " Dad's not here." " We need to take care of John now." "Dad was half cut when we left him." "It probably hit him when he was still in bed" " I'm sorry, Mom." " I'm sorry." " Dad'll be okay." " I have to go." "Take it, take it." "Susan, Susan!" "Susan!" "We need to deal with John now." "And Daddy... he'd want me to look after John." "Susan!" "Don't go in there, babe." "What if she's dead, Ian?" "What if they've burned her body?" "Well, you'd just left the beach." "You'd already-- you'd already been swimming." "She was wearing her water wings." "No, we were going back to the room." "I'd left them in the room." "She wasn't wearing them?" "I had her in my arms." "You let go?" "She got hold of a tree." "If we go back..." "You didn't feel it, Suze." "You couldn't." "If we go back to the tree..." "Come on, baby." "We'll find her, we'll find her, baby." "Come on, come on." "Come on." "Careful." "Excuse me?" "Excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm looking for my son?" "Do you speak English?" "Mom." "Tony." "There's a boy at a clinic in Takua Pa." "John Peabody, 16 years old, he's badly injured." "His mother called while you were out and she needs a flight evacuation." "There are spaces on the commercial charters if need be." "Do people know that?" "The second team arrive tomorrow." "I'll post someone out there as soon as it's feasible." "His mother's pretty distressed." "We have limited resources, Kathy." "I have to coordinate the volunteers" " as best as I can." " Yeah, I know but" "Why don't you just let me get on with my job" " and you get back to yours?" " Kathy?" "They've arrested some of the villagers for looting food and water." "I can get an official down here." "One phone call." "Have they been given food and water?" "Does anyone need a lift to their village?" "I need to get to Kaw Tai village..." "They took Grandmother's bracelets..." "No, Mr. Whittaker's not here at the moment." "What time will he be back?" "He's on an inspection tour, but there is an open meeting tonight at the town hall if you want to ask any questions." "Does anybody-- does anybody in the U.K. even know what's happening here?" "People can't get home." "We don't have any money." "We-- we can't find our daughter." "You understand?" "This is madness." "Ian, Ian!" "She's at Takua Pa Clinic." "Oh my God." "It's her?" "It's her." "It is her." "Come on." "Hey hey, Takua Pa?" "Takua Pa." "Takua Pa." "I think he's just dehydrated, but he has a cut on his side." "I'm going around in circles." "Been calling the help line." "They just say, "Go to your embassy."" "I'll see what I can do but" "When Dad gets here" "Your dad's not getting here, is he?" "Who says?" "Who says?" "Adam..." "Dad's-- Dad's dead, darling." "Okay." "Call them again." "What'll they do?" "Give us another wash bag and a mat in the gym?" "I want someone here now." "Someone with authority." "Someone who can get my son home." "These-- these two boys are all I've got and I will not lose another member of my family." "Phuket town hall." "Tonight there's a meeting for British survivors." "You're his mother." "There's no one better to convince them if you want John on a flight." "You stay here with your brother." "Don't move." "All right?" "Martha, Martha Carter?" "Martha Carter-- she's down as, um, 573" " at your website." " Over there." "Martha baby?" "It's, uh, we're looking at the wrong girl." "It's the wrong" "It's not her." "It looked like her." " Photo all scratched up..." " Yeah." "She looked like her." "We could take her." "She's got no parents." "Maybe she's lost her parents, we could take her." "Susie, baby." "We can't take her, no." "I should never have left Martha." "I should never have left her with you." "That's a very pretty dress that dolly has on." "You have a duck here." "That the duck to kiss the dolly?" "You might want to change to a Thai network, love." "Sorry?" "I said you might want to change to a Thai network." "For some reason, their masts were barely hit." "Or you could use the public phone." "But my friend might be some time." "You've got a friend." "Yes, I have." "Technology's never been my thing." "Anything technical, I always defer to him." "First rule in life." "Always trust the geeks." "Thanks for the tip." "You are most welcome." "You know who he is?" "Should I?" "Maybe." "Hello, Dr. Meeko." "Boonma." "Look at you, all smartened up." "Have a seat." "You've been waiting for this moment a long time." "How can I help you?" "On behalf of the Thai government..." "I've a proposition to make, Dr. Meeko." "Than?" "Be back in a sec." "Hey hey." "I have to get back to my village." "There are people still alive." "I have to do something." "The villagers have all run to the hills." "Okay." "Okay." "Let's get you cleaned up." "I'll drive you down there." "It'll be okay." "Holy shit." "Tony, the meeting's starting." "We've got to go." "Just coming." "I've been here since last night." "And what have you done?" "Nothing." "Please, I know you all have questions, but in a natural disaster of this sort" "No." "No." "No." "No, I last saw my daughter 36 hours ago." "She was screaming for help." "She was alone." "And she was afraid." "There is nothing natural about any of this." " I appreciate" " I want my daughter back." "I want her here, and I want her now." "You have to tell me how to do this." "Because I'm not leaving until you do." "Until all of us... get our kids back." "Believe me, I am going to do everything I can to help you" "My wife is dead." "I want her body back." "My-- my son is lying in Takua Pa Clinic." "He will die if he isn't evacuated tonight." "Can you guarantee we're gonna get our bodies back?" "As far we know, there are up to 10,000 British nationals in Thailand at this time." "You can appreciate they're trying to coordinate with the Thai government and the other foreign embassies to locate and identify as many bodies as we can as quickly as possible, and to repatriate people, either to medevac..." "You were talking in your sleep, Than." "If my house is still there..." "Come with me." "It's safe to go back down now." "I need your help." "Maybe tomorrow." "Do you want some apple?" "There you go." "It's nice." "Well, at least she's eating something today." "Where is my mummy?" "Do you want... to finish up your milk?" ""Pomme" is apple." "It's apple." "The Swedish father of three last saw his youngest son being carried away after the giant wave devastated the bay at Khao Lak on Boxing Day." "The reunion was a very emotional occasion for all concerned." "Even journalists were moved to tears." "Found trapped under debris by Thai villagers two miles in from where the wave first hit..." "I thought we were going to stay here today?" "What about Martha?" "You don't think Eve's mother is looking for her?" "We haven't heard anything." "That doesn't mean she doesn't have family looking for her." "Well, they know where to find us." "We have a daughter." "We have to take her back." "It's chaos out there." "There are... three temples... four hospitals." "We have to keep checking-- for Christ's sakes, Susan!" "Someone needs to stay with Eve." "And what about Martha?" "Who's looking after Martha?" "You lost her, you find her." "She's dead." "If that makes you feel better about taking somebody else's child" "Well, at-- at least I'm not digging in the sand-- looking for what?" "Do you think she'd hold onto a tree?" "Do you think Martha would hold onto a fucking tree?" "My baby?" "She's dead." "You keep digging in the sand, my love, if that's what you want to do with your hands but I don't want to see my baby dead." "Ian." "Khao Lak?" " Khao Lak?" " Yes." "Than?" "This is...?" "My village." "Live there." "Keep boat here." "Where is everybody?" " All gone." " But your family?" "Oh God." "I'm sorry." "His family up in the hill." "They too frightened to come down." "And your little girl?" "No." "Not yet." " I found my wife." " Good good." "Wife good." "Okay." "We burn them to free the soul." "Oh shit." "Oh-- oh shit." "You're not angry." "You lost your whole family, you're not angry?" "Not what I want." "How it is." "My family gone." " I try to keep my land." " What do you mean?" "Every morning when I wake up here," "I see this." "Other men see it too." "What are they doing?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Wait, Ian." "Ian." "Hey-- hey." "My daughter could be under there." "He's worried about his daughter." "Body all gone." "Go temple." "No no." "She's not dead." " They can't do this." " No one come and stop them." "There has to be a mistake." "There must be" " I'll get someone." "It's a mistake." "You're not listening to me." "I'm trying to get through to the British Embassy." "I want my son evacuated to the U.K." "where he can receive specialized medical care." "Maybe not strong enough to journey." "No" "No, I'm" " I'm going to find somebody." "They want to amputate his leg." "Look, James worked for you for years, now-- our travel--?" "No." "No, there are no papers." "I have nothing." "You don't understand what it's like out here." "We were given a few hundred baht and a toothbrush." "We've lost everything." "Please, I'm begging you." "That's too late." "I'll try the embassy again." "Yeah, they want to transfer him in the next couple of hours." "Bye." "I think I found Dad." "It's a website with photos." "I think it's Dad." "He looks... it's a temple, about half an hour away." " We don't-- we don't have time." " Half an hour." "It will take half an hour." "Okay." "There are more NGOs out here than news crews." "I'm watching the TV." "I've seen the donations pouring in, but it could be weeks before the money filters through." "I know our remit is education but I can't just sit around when the very basics aren't getting to these families." "I'm talking food, water, mosquito nets." "I'm just asking that you reassign some funds." "No, it can't wait." "Why is it that the supermarkets in Phuket are teeming with everything these people need?" "I can order lobster in my hotel." "Room service could get aid to these people faster." "We're working with the local authorities to get the infrastructure up and running again as soon as possible." "Still no rapid deployment team?" "We're drafting in as many volunteers with special skills as we can from the U.K. and elsewhere." "I'm in constant contact with London and other colleagues." "And I'm confident that we'll have a significant presence by the end of the week." "However, we're all aware of the scale of this disaster." "There are other countries-- Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India-- that are going to need help, both now and in the future." "Okay, thank you." "They're... they're clearing land in Khao Lak." " Yes, I heard that." " Why aren't they still searching" " for people?" " Well, I think it's fair" " that they've recovered the bodies." " My-- my daughter could be stuck under debris, lying injured in a ditch somewhere." "The likelihood of finding any more survivors is slim." "If you haven't found your daughter by now..." "I'm sorry." "That was-- I'm so sorry." "What do I do now?" "Oh Christ." "Hey, Tony?" "I need someone to sign off on some paperwork for me." "If you could apply a little diplomatic pressure, there's crates of supplies just sitting in a flight hangar because the NGOs are still in a meeting to arrange a meeting about a meeting." "And I need to get my hands on them and get out there as soon as possible." "Kathy, there's a protocol to these situations." "Screw the protocol." "You haven't been in this situation before." "I can't be sidetracked." "My brief is to help British Nationals." "You ever heard of the global village?" "I'm doing the best I can." "Yeah well, do better!" "There are 60 ski suits and 200 tins of baked beans in my office." "If you think they'll be helpful to someone, please take them." "The Nordic Rotary Club and Rotherham Scouts will be most reassured to know that their donations have been put to good use." "For most of us, this was the holiday of our dreams." " I've lost my fiancé." " I'm so sorry." "On behalf of S.Q.A. Hotels," "I can only offer our deepest condolences and reiterate my colleague's statement." "We've been helping those who need to fly home, and liaising with the relevant authorities." "But we're not looking at individual cases at the moment." "No one-- no one could have known a tsunami was coming." "And as such, whilst our sympathies lie with the families, we're doing all we can based on the information that we have so far." "This just isn't good enough." "What are you going to do?" "Where possible, we will be offering alternative accommodation in our hotels not affected by the tsunami for those who wish to resume their holiday." "You think we want to go on holiday now?" "I lost my son here." " Well, that was classy." " Don't quote me on it, please." "That's a red rag to a bull." "They're looking for somebody to take responsibility." "Who do they want to blame?" "God?" "Earthquakes don't just happen, do they?" "People monitor these things." "There are warnings." "There are rumblings, right?" " That's volcanoes." " Ah." "Why do you think the palm trees are still standing-- when all the hotels and chalets are just gone like they were barely even there." "I don't know." "They were built before my time." "And why are you shaking?" "Ellen." " What?" " I'm watching you." "Haven't you got a wife who's missing you or something?" "Yeah, too much." "She wants me home." "Oh no." "No, Chai, no." "You don't need me." "Rami or one of the other guys can get you the shots." "No no, this isn't done yet." "Remember that guy at the hotel?" "We saw him at the hotel the day after we arrived." "I recognized him from press junkets and stuff." "He's an earthquake guy." "He's a seismologist." "Right." " Simone, East Asia Press." " Simone." "Wait wait." "Simone, could you run a check for me on a Dr. Pravat Meeko?" "Sure." "P-r-a-v-a-t" "M-e-e-k-o." "Ladies, and gentlemen of the press" "Yeah, I'll hold." "I run an education program through a charity." "We're working with over 600 Thai children in this province." "So far I've been able to track 49 of them." "Unfortunately the aid that could be helping is not getting through." "There are Thai people up in the hills who still need the basics." "They can't go back to their villages because the clear-up hasn't got to them." "So please, come with me." "I'll show you." "No no." "No." "I got something bigger than that." "It better be worth it, Nick." " Nick..." " Yeah?" "Okay, Dr. Pravat Meeko, former head of Thailand's Meteorology Department..." "What's he doing now?" "After 25 years as one of Thailand's foremost ministers," "Dr. Meeko took the post of Deputy Director of Public Records in 1996." "That's a graveyard posting." "What the fuck did he do to get dumped there?" "Love, why don't you go and wait for me?" "I don't want you to have to see" "Adam, no" "Oh God." "It's Dad." "What are they?" "Poisson." "What are they?" "Oh..." "Little fishes." "Do you want some of your drink?" "Bubbles." "Bulles." "Bubbles." "Bulles." "Open your mouth." "Now these people are actually from the coast, and they've lost their homes." "Maybe you guys can help shame the powers-that-be, into extending their clear-up beyond the tourist resorts so they can get back to their land." "Come on up." "Just introduce yourselves." "They won't bite." " Nice photo." " Uh-huh." "We're missing the story, Nick." "Yeah well, let someone else deal with it." "Here we go." ""Bangkok Express, February 12, 1996." "A false alarm about a tsunami hitting the west coast of Thailand led to mass panic and the departure of many families from their coastal homes."" "He made some kind of recommendation in '96." "Where is it?" "Where is it?" "Whatever he said, it's not going to be on the net." "What's the Deputy Director of Public Records doing in Phuket, eh?" " Smiling and saying "I told you so."" " Yeah." "Where are we going?" " Tell her I'll call her back." " Simone." "Sorry." "Dr. Meeko?" "Nick Fraser." "I covered a couple of your department's press junkets back when you worked for the government." "I'm having a little trouble getting ahold of your report, the one where you predicted a tsunami would hit Thailand, devastating the Andaman Coast." "What did your recommendation say, Dr. Meeko?" "And why are you meeting with the very man the government chose to replace you" "Dr. Boonma Polsak?" "What matters to me is next time." "Next time?" "Things might be different." "Dr. Meeko" "I was up in Khao Lak just after it happened, and I saw things..." "I hope I never see again." "Are you saying there'll be a next time?" "Here." "This is where I'm staying." "Mr. Whittaker, this is-- this is Kim Peabody." "I managed to track down your mobile number." "I've" " I've called your office several times." "It's my son, you see." "He's struggling for his life." "I need my son medevaced to the U.K. now." "What does your consultant say?" "That they want to amputate his leg." "I really believe under U.K. care" "I wouldn't be forced to make the kind of decisions that I am being asked to make here." "Phuket Hospital is highly respected." "It has some of the best medical teams in Thailand." "Four days and I've been calling, and I've been asking for this flight for four days." "The good news is London has just okayed a fairly comprehensive care program for those without travel insurance." "Did you have any?" "I don't know!" "I don't know-- my husband did all of that." "You see, it really only applies to those without insurance." "No, Mr. Whittaker, I-I-- look, right now, you know, I'm without anything." "I have a phone card and a toothbrush." " Perhaps family in the U.K. could" " My mother, but she's elderly." "James was my family." "Look, now listen," "I came here with my husband and two children." "I have lost my husband," "I will not lose my son as well." "I'll come and see you now." "Mark, about Mrs. Peabody, she's asking for immediate evacuation for her and her son." "He could die." "Yes, I know-- I know that, but he'll need a medical team on the flight." "I've told her I'll visit her tonight." "No no, I think we should do something now." "Right." "Right, okay." " What?" " We've got a meeting in 10 minutes, temporary mortuary facilities." "Fuck." "Fuck." "Um, I'll be back." "I'll be back." "Thank you." "I didn't mean to disturb you." "I'm Tony Whittaker." "Yeah, Mom said you were never coming." "This is very bad." "Very bad." "I'm so sorry" "If you're so sorry, why can't you get him home?" " If he dies" " Adam." "Mrs. Peabody..." " please have a chair." " No no." "I've been sitting all day." "Have you got John his flight?" "I am working on it." " I'm confident we can do something." " When?" "Tomorrow night at the latest." "Tomorrow night." "All right, I shall hold you to that." "It's good to hear your voice, Dad." "Tell Mom... tell her we'll be home soon." "All right?" " Where are you staying?" " This place just above Phuket." "Bit of a trek from the beach, isn't it?" "Yeah, that's the idea." "Did you see that-- that guy got his kid today?" " Swedish." " Yeah yeah." "How great must that be?" "Yeah." "I keep thinking if I just look a few more yards, you know, if I-- if I just check one more list." "Wouldn't that be something if she just was...?" "You know, so you keep looking." "You keep looking, and you go back to the same hospitals and the same temples and the same lists." "And every day there are less and less new people coming in, but you can't give up." "You know, I can't give up." "Would you?" "Would you?" "No, if it was me, I'd look." "And I'd look again." "But if I was honest with myself..." "I was in this village today just beyond Khao Lak." "This guy-- he's all that's left of his village." "Ban Kaw Tai." "It's called Ban Kaw Tai." "It's completely wiped out." "You know, and he's-- he's working all day on this crappy little shelter, like his-- like his life depended on it, and a water hole." "He's watching these big fuck-off bulldozers coming closer and closer, and he thinks they're... they're after his land." "What?" "And maybe somewhere... they're just going to build right over them." "Who?" "Who's going to build right over them?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "Get up." "Oh shit." "Hi." "Hi." "You stink." "It has been said." "Are you drunk?" "No." "Buddha." "Picked up backpacking with your friends when you were 18." " You are drunk." " No, I'm not." "This is a tragedy." "Run-on lists." "Put them down." "You checking your numbers... your stats?" "All those drowned guests." "They're clearing land ready to rebuild, all along Khao Lak." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Barely been a week..." "and they're flattening land." "The villagers think they're going to steal it off them." " You should get some sleep." " Who's doing it, Ellen?" " I don't know." " You sure?" " Yeah." " Really?" "Mm-hmm." "'Cause it's really beautiful there." "It's not hard to imagine someone wanting to build on it." " Stop it." " What?" "Stop it." "Well, I'm sorry." "Force of habit." " Just looking for a place to lie." " Nick" "I'm sharing a room with a farting creature who hogs the shower, snores like a tractor." "He's not fucked up." "He's a good guy." "He's got this baby, must be what...?" "I don't know how old he is, but I never asked." "He's about this big." "And he talks to it." "He calls in to speak to his wife every day, and at the end he talks this gobbledygook to this baby." "What is it that makes men so fucking nuts... about their kids?" "And then I think, my dad did that to me, once;" "held me in his hands, looked down at me, saw a tiny little piece of him." "How'd you get here, Ellen?" "Backpacking." "I was 21." "And I fell in love with the country." "I got to know the coastline." "I got what I needed to get this job." "Got more experience." "Came back and I never left." " It gets under your skin." " Yeah." " Yeah." " Something like that." "No, I" " I can't wait." "I need to speak to Mr. Whittaker now." "My son is going to die." "When will he be back?" "Tell him to call me, please." "Mom?" "I just-- need a few more minutes." " John's going to die." " Darling, he-- he's not going to die." "He's not going to die." "I'm not going to let that happen." "I'll make the right decision for him." "I want Dad." "Yeah... yeah, me too." "He'll hate us." "He'll know we did it to save his life." "He'll hate me." "He won't, darling." "It'll save his life." "Lizard." "Lizard." "Can you say that?" "They're taking swabs... at a couple of the temples." "For DNA, to help identify the bodies." "We need to do that... if Martha's not coming back... if she's dead." "I was calling home last night when I saw you." "I just needed to hear someone's voice." "I just needed to hear... something familiar," "something that hadn't changed." "And I was watching you with her and..." "I wanted her to be Martha so badly." "But she's not." "And we have to take her back now." "A lizard." "I'll get her things." "France?" "Um, parlez anglais?" "She'll be fine." "Just five more minutes." "There's nothing more we can do." "I just need to know she's okay." "I'm not leaving till I know she's all right." "Excusez-moi, monsieur!" "No, you're all right." "Thanks, though." " Do you speak English?" " Yes." "Oh, beauty." "Are we here?" "Maybe... here." " I bring gifts." " Thank you." "From the clean-up team?" "No, but it looks like your lot lured 'em up." "Some days I think this is the only thing" " keeping that piece of crap alive." " What's one up from here?" "Um, mainly fishing villages." "Is it true they're grabbing land from the villagers?" "Oh, it wouldn't surprise me." "There's probably about 25 villages up and down this coastline who at one time or another had developers knocking on their door." "This one's the frontline." "This one's right next door to paradise." "Everyone wants a piece of it." "And the villagers have lived here for so many generations, you'd think they'd have history on their side, but something like this just washes all that away." "Doesn't matter if you've lived here for five years or 500." "Who are they selling to?" "The hotels?" "Yeah, probably." "That's why the sooner we get them down from the hills and back into the villages, the better." " Be careful where you're walking." " Thanks, love." "What's going on?" "Government." "Government?" "They're gonna build hotels?" "Gonna build hotels?" "Soon, maybe." "Thanks." "Do you speak English?" "Ah, sure, but this is for Dutch nationals." "Where's the U.K.?" "Um... someone told me they will be here later this afternoon." "What do we do till then?" "Uh, I don't know what to say." " I'm really sorry." " Look look," " we've lost our daughter, okay?" " Yes, I understand." "Um, you can take a little bit of spit from me?" " Uh, I can't" " Dana, it's okay." " We can do it." " Oh..." " Thank you." " You like to sit here?" "We do saliva." "I specialize in dental identification." "We're asking families... if they could get the dental records of the missing, courier it over here." "It will speed up the process." "Ian Carter." "11th of December, 1972." "And you've lost...?" "Martha Carter." "First of April, 1998." "She got hold of a tree." "I've been trying to work out how long she'd... need to hold on for." "An hour, maybe?" "Do you think a six-year-old... could have held on for that long?" "A grown man would struggle with that one." "She might have been able to hold on for 10, 15 minutes, but... no, not for an hour." "Not in that water." "Here's a number... where we're staying." "My wife... it's been harder." "He was only telling us the truth." "You think I mind truth?" "You think I want hope?" "I don't want hope." "I don't want to think that maybe she'll come back, because she won't and then I am broken all over again." "Because you know, I left her with you, Ian." "I trusted that" " There was a 15-foot fucking wave!" " You let her go." "We were walking back to the hotel room." "I had the keys in my hand-- I don't know what you want me to say." "You want me to say it's my fault?" "It is my fault." "I let her go." "It is my fault." "I couldn't" "I couldn't keep hold of her." "It is my fault!" "It will always be my fault, but I didn't make this happen, Susan." "I couldn't stop this happening, love, I couldn't!" "Come on." "She was my baby too." "You were the one holding onto her." "Yeah." "When she stopped calling for me, it was you she was shouting for." "And where were you, Susan?" "Where the fuck were you when she needed you?" "I wasn't there." "No, you weren't there." "Any of you guys want a break?" "Nice work." "Thank you." "She's saying thank you." "Her baby hasn't slept for two days." "I'm gonna hunt for some medical supplies-- if you want a lift?" "Ian?" "I'm gonna head off, if that's okay." "Yeah, do you want me to go with?" "No, I'm fine." "You're best here." "Kathy, could you bring back some more tarpaulin?" "Bloody hell, Ian, you're gonna need a picket fence by the time you're finished." "He knows his stuff-- Ian." "Yeah, give him a hammer and he's happy." "He's always complaining he's stuck too much in the office." "When we first started, that's all he did, worked on site." "He's always been best with his hands." "Now we've got 14 men and he hates the paperwork." "He's a Godsend." "Yeah." "Yeah, I guess." "How can you believe?" "How can you believe in a God that would do this?" "Um, I guess I know He can't have a grip on every corner." "Why not?" "I mean, isn't He all-powerful?" "Isn't He this-- shining spirit that's meant to look after us?" "That doesn't sound like a nonbeliever to me." "Well, I don't believe in a God that keeps us all safe, keep the world from harm." "Neither do I." "But I do believe He didn't do this." "You know, the world keeps turning and I don't think it's down to Him." "Hope-- that's all I've got." "Believing in something that can't be proven, but that you're willing to trust is there." "That's what keeps me safe at night." " What, even after this?" " Yeah, even after this." "Buddhists believe that you're only on this planet for a short life, and that you have to make the best of it." "And if you don't, or can't, then there's always another life." "Well, just don't ask me to believe that Martha's gonna come back as a fish or something." "To be honest, logistics has been our biggest problem." "Every hospital in Phuket now has a U.K. contact point." "Uh, right, I'll leave those better informed to take over from here." "Ah, the press is ready for you." "Yeah, I just want to pop up and see Kim Peabody's boy and let her know the good news." "Four, please." "Certainly." "Mrs. Peabody, we've managed to secure a medevac flight for your son in the morning." "London were pretty hard with their criteria, but when I explained the situation" "What's he doing here?" "I don't know what to say." "I wouldn't have taken you for a Methodist man." "Caught me." "Baptist mother, Catholic father, that leaves me somewhere in between, I imagine." "You edging any closer to getting that paperwork signed for me?" "Ah, I have put in calls to the relevant bodies, but" "Nah, you're okay." "Everyone needs to take five once in a while." "But if you do get a chance, I've got some people who would really appreciate a cargo full of plastic sheeting that's waiting to be picked up." " Kathy" " Okay okay, you've got the night off." " Bad day?" " What?" "Well, people normally turn to God if they've had a bum day." "I just needed somewhere to sit and think without" "Yeah." "I get that." "I used to flatter myself that I was actually doing something for this country." "But really, I'm just loitering... like an uncomfortable host at the party, making sure the right people are meeting, that the drinks are going round." "You've been stealing?" "I wouldn't call it that." "Reallocation of resources." "You'll understand." "Come on, I want to show you something." "Does it involve you driving?" "I got you here this far, didn't I?" "It's an early start tomorrow, Kathy." "Come on, ye of little faith." "Some are Burmese, working illegally." "Most are just poor Thais waiting to get their lives back on track." "Home, sweet home." "You lived here?" "Mm." "It's weird, what's lost and what survives." "I'm so sorry." "And this..." "God knows whose this is." "They amputated John Peabody's leg today." "Oh God." "I stupidly believed that... if I did what London said" "You can look to someone above, but the buck stops with me." "Well, we're all guilty of that." "I've spent nearly half my life believing in... something, something bigger than me." "Today was the first day I suddenly thought, maybe I'm just talking to myself, that there really is nothing." "This is it, just me." "Why do you stay here, Kathy?" "I mean, don't you have family?" "Don't you have another life?" "No, this is it." "This is my one shot." "So if I've got it wrong..." "You know what I realized today?" "I'm good at this." "This is what I'm good at-- chaos is my natural habitat." "When I look around at all the pain and suffering and just so much disaster" "to tell you the truth, Tony, if I'm honest..." "I've never felt so lonely." "And I've never felt so alive." "I'm having the best time of my life." "Is that terrible?" "That this is all my life is?" "No." "Yeah." "Probably." "You do the best you can." "Do better." "Sorry." "That's all right." "I couldn't sleep." "Where've you been?" "I walked from Ban Kaw Tai." "You walked?" "As I was walking back..." "I felt Martha." "I felt her." "My mind's a bit tapped at the moment, but..." "I felt her, Susie." "They found a body." "Hi." "Come with me, please." "We've moved some bodies over to the containers." "They offer some protection from the heat." "The body has decomposed." "But I want you to look if you can see anything that might identify her to you." "If you need anything..." "I can't tell." "How do we know?" "Swimming costume was... it was pink with" "these flowers which" "Was she wearing flowers?" "Do you know I've-- I just can't remember." "Look again." "Let's just, just-- let's stay here, a moment... if it is our baby." "She's so tiny." "They sent Martha's dental records." "These will help." "How long will we have to wait?" "I don't know how much I can get from an initial examination." "But, maybe several hours." "Days maybe." "I can call you later at your hotel." "We'll take care of her." "Sa-wat dee kha." " Sorry I'm a little bit late." " Oh, no problem." " Come, join us." " Thank you." "Who's the guy?" "Jesus, Nick, you freaked me out." "What's that?" "It's a bar menu." "It's just a meeting." "He's an associate of someone in our Bangkok office." "Hold on." "Look." ""Tsunamis: warning signs and precautionary measures." "February, 1996, Dr. Pravat Meeko."" ""Giant sea waves moving toward the coastline generated by earthquakes beneath the sea-  it can be assumed..."" " Nick, I really" ""...that earthquakes in the Andaman Sea will affect the west coast of Thailand."" "It's all marked up, see?" "I've never seen it." "No, you wouldn't have, would you?" "Because it's confidential." "There's a faultline that runs along the Andaman Coast." "And only half of it blew." "What about the other half?" "What we saw on Boxing Day may well happen again." "We listen to the government, Nick." "We have to trust them." "If they say it's fine, it's fine." ""Recommendations-- new building development should be avoided in tsunami impact zone."" " Nick" " They thought it might be coming and they ignored it." "Worse, they ridiculed it." "So what are you gonna do?" " You're just gonna rebuild the hotels?" " Nick!" "You're gonna put them right back where they were?" "This country needs tourism." "We build hotels, bring jobs, bring trade, bring the dollar, the yen, the pound." "But you've got a responsibility to the people too, haven't you?" "I also have responsibility to my companies, the people I work for." "Oh." "And what about Ban Kaw Tai?" "You gonna build there?" "On land that's not even yours?" "I'm just doing my job." "I barely even know where Ban Kow Tai is." "It's a fishing village, Ellen!" "It's got a population of 1200." "It's land that was owned by those villagers for generations." "Give me five minutes and meet me upstairs, we'll talk about it." "If there's anything I can do, I promise I will." "Mm-hm." "Look, we have 742 guests missing." "If I thought any decision I'd made had caused even one of those deaths..." "What?" "What do you fucking think?" "Give me five minutes." "Can I have a beer, please?" " A beer?" " Yes, sir." "Ian!" "Ian, quickly!" "What's wrong?" "Look!" "Hey!" "Hey, stop stop!" "Turn it off!" "Turn it" "There's children here!" "Stop!" "You're going to have to move." "What's he say?" "I'm very sorry for your loss." " Kathy!" " What?" "But this land has been acquired." "By whom?" "You have the paperwork for this?" "This land belongs to SQA hotels now." "How much are they giving you?" "Because it isn't enough." "Hey hey hey!" "Ho, okay." "It's okay, all right." "You all right?" "My great-grandfather, he fish here all his life." "My grandfather, my father, my family die here." "I know it's hard, believe me." "But we survived." "Okay?" "Okay?" "Okay." "You're building on a graveyard." "Only fools believe in ghosts." "Come on." "Are you leaving, Ellen?" "742 guests." "How many next time?" "I hope they sue you from here to Bangkok." "I was with a woman today, she was on honeymoon." "She'd been married for three days." "She said the only thing that made it bearable was that the last image of her husband was him smiling in paradise." " People still want paradise." " Yeah, with a crack running through it." "Come on, Nick, look at Bali, California, some of the most beautiful coastlines in South America," "Eastern Turkey, most of Japan." "It's a fragile world, Nick." "Dr. Meeko's recommendations were deliberately ignored by Thai authorities who were desperate to protect the burgeoning tourist industry." "And now the worst has happened." "Yet S.Q.A. Hotels continue to ignore the dangers of building on a fragile coastline, and are prepared to grab land from Thai villagers to build even bigger resorts." "S.Q.A. property manager Ellen Webb," "E-L-L-E-N W-E-B-B, says, quote, "We build hotels, bring jobs, bring trade, bring the dollar, yen and pound." End quote." "She goes on to say that she has, quote," ""a responsibility to my company, to the people I work for." "I'm just doing my job," she says." "Nick?" "It's a good story, Simone." "It's a great story." "You don't need me to rewrite it." "Send it just as it is." "Well, give me five minutes to tidy it up then, all right?" "...working with seismologists from all over the world to ensure loss on this scale will not happen again." "Dr. Pravat Meeko's exit from his position as head of the Thai Meteorological Department in the '90s occurred under a cloud." "He had warned of the dangers of a possible tsunami along the Andaman Coast." "He will head the new committee charged with" "You saw the news?" "There's no smoking in here." "You know, my wife just put phone down on me, didn't want me to take the job." "She'll come around." "Six years is a long time to be sidelined." "This isn't about me, but to see an early warning system in place." "Next time, half an hour can make all the difference." "Half an hour after an earthquake happening and every beach can be cleared from here to Sumatra." "Thanks for the report." "What report?" "Better check our emails." "Okay." "You had a call." "It was a doctor-- Dutch, I think." "Are you sure?" "Okay, yeah." "Tomorrow." "Thanks, bye." "It's not her." "The, um... girl had two fillings." "Booked you a taxi for 8:00." "I'm not going." "What's left of Martha is still here." "How can I go if she's still here?" "I was just... thinking about when she was born." "I was thinking about... well just-- remembering her eyes looking out into the world." "Do you remember that?" "How do we come back from this, Suze?" "Oh, I don't know." "We can't leave." "I can't stop thinking about when we flew over here and she was sitting in the space between us." "I don't know... it was just... you and me and... the three of us." "It's New Year's Eve." "Sorry, that's my handwriting, that's "E"" "Mom?" "Mom, he's come around again." "Excuse me." "How're you feeling?" "Hello, my darling." "How are you?" "Yeah, a bit better." "Yes." "This still sore?" "While no one will forget what they've seen over the last six days, out of tragedy has come the most astonishing resilience and strength." "The overwhelming love and care of the many volunteers who have been brought together by this sequence of events, and the extraordinary selflessness and compassion shown by the people of Thailand to perfect strangers has been very very humbling." "I'm proud to have been a part of this." "None of us will go home the same." "Okay?" "Thank you, Tony." " Yeah, a moment." " Did you get all that?" "Hi, is everything in order with your... ticket here?" "Well, good luck." "Hi, it's Carol, isn't it?" "Hi, how are you doing?" "Hello, and you are--?" "Let me remember-- it's Anna." "Hannah!" "I'm sorry." "I broke your camera." "Nick." "Four columns, not bad." "That is a start, isn't it?" "So I hear you're thinking of being a real journo when you grow up." "When you coming home?" "Don't know, I thought I'd stick around a bit." "There's a whole thing with Burmese immigrants here I want to look into." "And then head up-- head down to Aceh... maybe add a few more columns." "Nick?" "You okay?" "Yeah yeah, I'm fine." "Good." "Suk says come back soon." " You give her my love, will you?" " I will." " All right." " Take care of yourself." "You take care too." "All right." "Than..."