Padma Wawlanbokke, Tsunami Victim, Back From The Dead?

Andrew Buncombe, The Independent

There are a million questions one could ask of the woman sitting on the edge of a hospital bed in southern Sri Lanka, but for now only one of them matters: is she Padma Wawlanbokke?

Five years ago, the 42-year-old's family mourned after she, her husband and the couple's young children disappeared and were presumed dead after the train in which they were travelling was struck by the deadly Asian tsunami. An estimated 1,500 passengers and villagers lost their lives after the tsunami hurled the Matara Express from its tracks in the quiet coastal hamlet of Peraliya.

But just three weeks ago, Mrs Wawlanbokke's brother, Premawardan, was buying spare parts for his car in a town near his home when he spotted a woman begging beneath a clock-tower built during the days of British rule. Instantly, she reminded him of his sister. He returned with another sister, who was equally adamant that the dirty, unkempt woman with the outstretched hand was their sister, Padma.

Read more at The Independent

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