On Thursday, it will be 20 years since the deadly Asian tsunami wreaked havoc in countries surrounding the Indian Ocean basin, including Malaysia. A reporter recounts the chaos that ensued near his home in Penang, while survivors and first responders remember a day that was full of tragedy and miracles.

GEORGE TOWN: It has been 20 years, but emergency first responder Ng In Heang (pic) still thinks about the little girl he tried to save in the aftermath of the tsunami.

He was in a Civil Defence Force ambulance when a frantic mother stopped them, screaming for help because her daughter was not breathing. The child, caught in the waves, had been rescued but was unresponsive.

“She could not have been over a year old. I performed CPR on her all the way to the hospital,” Ng recalled. He never learned if she survived.

“Sometimes, I think about her,” he said. Recounting that chaotic day in 2004, when the Boxing Day tsunami devastated the Indian Ocean basin, Ng described how packed his ambulance was.

“Many injured people stopped us, needing transport to the hospital. We eventually had 10 victims on board – some sitting, others standing. Luckily, it was a large ambulance,” said Ng, now 53.

A five-year-old boy, also caught in the waves, had stopped breathing too. Ng successfully revived him with CPR.

“By the end of that day, we made four trips between the hospital and the Batu Ferringhitanjung Bungah area. “The traffic was terrible and even with our sirens, we couldn’t move much.”

He said the ambulance driver took many back roads and shortcuts to get the injured quickly to the hospital. Ng recalled that he and his crew members had initially gone to respond to a car accident.

“Along the coastal road, we noticed the waves looking odd, heading to the shore in a straight white line.” It was only when they reached Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringhi that they realised a tsunami had hit Penang.

Ng said there were four personnel including him in the ambulance that day. “One has passed on. When the other two and I meet up, we still talk about the tsunami.”

As for tsunami “miracle baby” S. Thulaashi, who was washed out to sea on a mattress during the first wave and then brought back to shore in the second wave still asleep on her mattress, she is now

studying accounting at Universiti Sains Malaysia. She was 22 days old when the tsunami hit. Her father, A. Suppiah, has been holding thanksgiving prayers by the beach every Dec 26. He also prays for those who did not survive that devastating day.

Thulaashi, however, would not be attending the prayer session this time. “I have exams on that day, so I cannot make it. But I am grateful for the life I have and I am enjoying my student days right now,” said Thulaashi.