Police officer pronounced dead after 2004 tsunami is found ALIVE by his family after spending 16 years in a mental hospital because of the trauma he witnessed
- Police officer Abrip Asep was on duty when the 2004 tsunami hit Indonesia
- His relatives believed he was one of more than 230,000 dead
- But Asep has been found in a mental hospital and reunited with family
A police officer declared dead after the 2004 tsunami has been found alive after allegedly having a nervous breakdown in the midst of tragedy and ending up in a mental hospital for the past 16 years.
Abrip Asep was on duty when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit Indonesia on Boxing Day in 2004, his family said.
His relatives were heartbroken after they believed he was one of more than 230,000 people who died when waves of up to 30 meters high came across Southeast Asia.
But a stroke of luck caused Asep to be found and reunited with his family after nearly two decades apart, according to local media.
Police officer Abrip Asep, pronounced dead after the 2004 tsunami, has been found alive after allegedly having a nervous breakdown in the midst of tragedy and ending up in a mental hospital for the past 16 years. Pictured: Asep before he went missing (left), and Asep now in the mental hospital (right)
Abrip Asep was on duty when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit Indonesia on Boxing Day in 2004, his family said. Pictured: the aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia
Asep was found in a mental hospital in Aceh Province, Indonesia, after suffering mental health problems as a result of the trauma he witnessed during the tsunami.
He was reported missing by his family after the natural disaster hit Indonesia’s westernmost province, Aceh, and was later pronounced dead.
But his relatives said they made the shocking discovery that Asep was still alive in recent weeks after photos were shared in a family group chat on social media.
A relative said: “I couldn’t believe it, 17 years no news and we thought he was dead, we didn’t know he was still alive.”
Asep (left) was found in a psychiatric hospital in Aceh Province, Indonesia, after suffering mental health problems as a result of the trauma he witnessed during the tsunami.
Local police confirmed that the man found in the mental hospital was Abrip, who was reported missing during the tsunami and later declared dead.
A spokesman for the Aceh regional police said: “Even though he is suffering from mental illness as a result of the tsunami, his family is very grateful to him for finding him alive.”
It is unclear why his family was not informed that he was in a psychiatric hospital.
The Indonesian archipelago was the hardest hit country in Southeast Asia when the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004 was followed by a tsunami.
The Indonesian archipelago was the hardest hit country in Southeast Asia when the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004 was followed by a tsunami. In the photo: the aftermath of the tsunami in the coastal area of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
The tsunami was the effect of an underwater earthquake just after 1am on Boxing Day, the third largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph, with a magnitude of 9.0-9.3.
The gigantic water movement that followed saw waves of up to 30 meters hitting the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
Indonesia was severely affected by the tsunami and suffered at least 167,000 casualties, a number closer to 200,000.
But this is unlikely to ever be confirmed, as thousands of bodies could never be recovered as they were swept out to sea by the powerful waves.