Attenborough's granddaughter dies in disaster

At the time of going to press Lord Attenborough's daughter, a former administrator at Chiswick's Ballet Rambert school, and her mother-in-law were missing, presumed dead.

In a statement issued by the family it was said Lord Attenborough's son-in-law Michael and grandson Sam had survived the horror but that his other granddaughter Alice is being treated in hospital for her injuries. The statement read: "Lord (Richard) Attenborough and his wife Sheila have lost three members of their immediate family in the tidal wave disaster that hit the beaches of Thailand on Boxing Day morning.

"The Attenboroughs' granddaughter, Lucy, died at the scene."

The family left their Roehampton home last week for a two week holiday at the Thai beach resort. Lord Attenborough, 81, and his family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time.

A NEWLYWED couple from Richmond are missing feared dead in the Asian wave disaster which killed the granddaughter of Lord Attenborough. His daughter is also missing.

The couple, Christopher and Gaynor Mullen were last heard of when telling their family on Christmas Day that they were heading for the beach in Thailand.

They were on their honeymoon and last phoned home on Christmas Day but nothing has been heard since.

The couple met when they worked together for an American company, Cardinal, in Swindon, Wiltshire.

They moved to Richmond recently because Christopher started a new job in London.

When they phoned home they spoke to Christopher's father, Nick Mullen, in Nottingham and reports claim that they had been in Bangkok and were heading down to the south of the country towards Phuket.

Tony Mulcahy of Burdett Road, Richmond planned to fly out to meet Lisa Harbutt, who was in the Andaman Islands.

He made an appeal on the BBC. Lisa was subsequently found safe and well.

l THE Sri Lankan manager of a shop in Barnes who has lost friends and family in the devastating tsunami has set up a collection.

Ajith Alwis of One Stop on Barnes High Street said: "My older brother narrowly escaped but two of my friends and nine family members have gone.

"I have just found out that one of my close friends died, they didn't even find the body.

"I am setting up a collection and will be handing over money to the Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple in Bedford Park Chiswick."

A collection box has been set up at the One Stop shops in Whitton and Hanworth as well as Barnes.

Around £300 has already been raised and Mr Alwis is going to take his area manager with him to hand over the money next Friday, January 7.

He is also calling for dry food, medicine and water purification tablets.

l THE vicar from a Hampton Hill church is helping victims of the disaster in Sri Lanka, where he was visiting on a sabbatical when the waves struck.

Rev Brian Leathard from St James's Church is in Colombo with his wife, Ramani, who is Sri Lankan and works for the country for Christian Aid.

Before he left in mid-December he told the Richmond and Twickenham Times that the trip was an opportunity to recharge their batteries and seek spiritual renewal.

The parish has already sent £500 to help the aid efforts in the stricken community, but is calling on residents to rally round and donate more funds.

In an email to his friends in the parish, Rev Leathard described their experiences: "Let me just reassure you once again that we are all fine and well, although of course every family here knows people who have been very badly affected. An ex-Cambridge colleague of ours has been here on holiday and while she survived her parents, husband and children have been killed.

"On the south coast of the island the tidal wave was some ten metres high and travelled up to four kilometres inland, destroying everything in its wake. The first many people knew of a strange happening was when the sea retreated, in places up to a kilometre, and fishermen and village people as well as tourists went out to observe the phenomenon, collecting fish from the sea bed.

"Within ten minutes however the sea had returned in the form of this tsunami and whole communities have been lost "In the south the population is more densely patterned and while it is closer to Colombo and marginally easier to get supplies to this region, nevertheless the scale of the disaster is immense. Bodies are no longer being identified but simply interred in mass graves.

"In the north and east, which is only partially controlled by the government and partially by the LTTE, the de facto separatist government, although Continued on page 2 l Former Teddington woman helps victims - page 2 l Our humanity can rise to meet the challenge - Comment, page 9 From page one the population is less dense communications are extremely difficult at the best of times.

"This region took the full brunt of the waves which traversed 3000km in less than two hours. Roads have been breached or washed away and so supply lorries need to unload onto tractors or boats in order to reach their destination. This is the area that has suffered 20 years of civil war and the situation is compounded by the danger of thousands of land mines which have floated uncontrollably across the region.

"The immediate need is for safe drinking water, latrines, shelter and clothing as well as dry rations. Thank you very much indeed to the PCC for having already sent £500 which will provide 200 families with water and food for a week this is literally the difference between life and death."

l HELPING spearhead the relief efforts in India is Lucy Harrison, a former team leader at the Avenue Centre in Teddington.

Miss Harrison, 42, who lives in Kingston, was travelling through Tamil Nadu when the tsunami hit.

She was on high ground near Pondicherry when the wall of water struck the coastline early on Sunday and joined others in helping to care for the survivors and comfort the grief-stricken.

She said: "A lot of villagers moved up to our town, among them those that have lost their homes and others afraid of further incidents. An old school is housing some, and tents have been put up.

"On the day after, even though there was no organised way of helping, I went down to the beach area. I felt frustrated and helpless and just wanted to see if there was anything I could do. I arrived just as the funeral of a local fisherman who had been killed by the wave was taking place."

Miss Harrison is now working at a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu.

"Things are starting to get a bit more organised here," she said on Wednesday. "I've just spent the morning at the refugee camp. We took a sack of rice, vegetables and biscuits. The kids were great, bouncing around, but the adults were a bit more weary. Food supplies seem fine, but there are no clothes other than what people are wearing. We're just sorting out some children's clothes to hopefully take them by tomorrow.

"They have already started the rebuilding process. The government has been giving money, but I don't know if it has got through yet or not. Most people live in bamboo huts on stilts, which usually take a day or two to build, so some people are hoping to go back home soon.

"A mass grave was dug yesterday. The casualties in this area have been mainly local fishermen. The area that has been affected is immediately by the sea, shops and life in general is going on as normal just behind the beach area which creates a very surreal feeling."

Miss Harrison used to help run the Avenue Centre for adults with learning difficulties and has been travelling in India since early November.

She has experience of overseas volunteer work, having been a teacher at a rural village school in Kenya in her late teens. She also took a diploma in Third World issues at London University.

Lucy had a very strange experience as she helped to search through the debris near the coast in Tamil Nadu. Among the mess was a single card from a holidaymaker's Pictionary game. The subject which the player was required to draw? A tidal wave.