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Man from Tonga hailed as real-life 'Aquaman' after surviving tsunami and 27 hours at sea
A 57-year-old man from Tonga is being called a real-life Aquaman after he spent 27 hours at sea during a devastating tsunami.
Lisala Folau is disabled and cannot walk properly. But when the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted and sent tsunami waves crashing across his island in the Tongan archipelago, he miraculously managed to survive by clinging onto a log.
Speaking to Reuters from Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, Folau described how he went under nine times before finally managing to find a raft.
"On the eighth time I thought, the next time I go underwater that's it, because my arms were the only things that were keeping me above water," he said.
He added: "So the ninth time I went under and came up and grabbed a log. And that's what kept me going."
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption began January 14 and sent tidal waves rolling across the archipelago.
At least three people have been killed by the eruption, which has also damaged villages and resorts and knocked out communications for the nation's 105,000 inhabitants.
Folau's home island - the isolated Atata - has a population of around 60 people. When the waves first struck on Saturday evening he climbed a tree for safety.
Being up high kept Folau safe from the first wave. But when he climbed down a second, bigger wave came and he was swept out to sea.
"I could hear my son calling from land but I didn't want to answer my son because I didn't want him to swim out to find me," he recalled.
"The waves kept twirling around here and there," he recalled of the terrifying experience, adding: "What came to mind is, at sea there is life and death. Until you reach the shore, then you know if you are alive or dead."
"I just floated, bashed around by the big waves that kept coming," he said.
According to Folau, he managed to swim almost 5 miles to reach the main island of Tongatapu, washing up on its shores on Sunday night after spending 27 hours at sea.
The Tongan's incredible feat has gone viral on social media, with many hailing him as a "real-life Aquaman" in reference to the comic-book superhero.
But internet fame is little consolation for Folau, whose home island Atata has been almost entirely destroyed by the eruption.
When asked if he knew who Aquaman is, Folau said that he did not yet.