BANDA ACEH (Indonesia): Muhammad Ali stood nervously, his hands clasped tightly. All of a sudden, his 15-year-old daughter whom he was sure died when massive waves smashed into Indonesia’s Aceh last December, ran toward him.

They hugged and wailed, tears streaming down their faces after Indonesian social welfare officials and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) helped reunite them on Wednesday, nearly six months after the Dec. 26 tsunami tore thousands of families apart.

“I thought you were gone,” said Ali, 45, sobbing in front of dozens of journalists invited to witness the reunion.

“I’m happy to see you. I thought you were dead too,” replied Sri Handayani after officials brought her to the social welfare department in the city of Banda Aceh from Meulaboh, 250 km (160 miles) to the south. She had been visiting relatives there at the time of the disaster and thought her family were all dead.

The reunion marks a happy moment as many more families struggle with separation.

Charity group Save the Children in conjunction with Unicef and the social affairs department runs a database with 1,968 children registered as being without their parents. Some 4,000 parents have filled out requests to trace lost children.

More than 140 children have been reunited with parents and extended families, although the number of reunions has dropped sharply in recent months compared to the period soon after the tsunami, Save the Children said.

Ali, a carpenter who lost his wife and two other children, said he believed his daughter was dead. Meulaboh was very near the epicentre of the 9.15 magnitude earthquake that triggered the tsunami, which destroyed half the city.

He went to Meulaboh, but could not find her, he said. Handayani was living in a refugee camp with a relative and was registered with a child centre there a month after the tsunami.

Finally, a month ago, Ali visited the Unicef office in Banda Aceh and following a thorough verification process, was able to be reunited with his daughter.

Two of Handayani’s other siblings survived and she will now go to live in a tent with her surviving family members at a refugee camp. —Reuters