Nine survivors of the December 26 tsunami were discovered by police on Wednesday in a forest on Campbell Bay island, after spending 38 days wandering across villages flattened by the killer waves.
The nine belong to the Nicobarese tribe and include five men, two women and two teenage girls, Inspector Shaukat Hussain said.
The island, located in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, is also known as Campbell Bay, after its only town. It is just 225 kilometers from Banda Aceh, the worst-hit area in Indonesia.
Many of the island's villages were wiped out.
"They were sitting in the forest when we saw them, and they just ran to us, without saying anything," said Hussain. "They seemed happy, yes, but there was no hugging and tears and shouting in joy and all that."
The oldest survivor was a 65-year-old man; the youngest an 11-year-old girl, he said.
Two of the survivors were severely dehydrated and were hospitalized.
The other seven were sent to a relief camp.
{{/usCountry}}The other seven were sent to a relief camp.
{{/usCountry}}"They seemed weak but OK. They said they had eaten coconuts, boars and wild shoots. They hunted to stay alive," Hussain said. "We found them not too far from where we found a dead body and cremated it."