He lost three daughters in tsunami, now gets three more

Darmi Ali lost his three daughters and wife to the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. The 44-year-old has since remarried and last week, he became a father again - of triplets, no less.

Darmi Ali lost his three daughters and wife to the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. The 44-year-old has since remarried and last week, he became a father again – of triplets, no less.

“I am overjoyed,” said police officer Ali, who was back at work on Wednesday at the regional headquarters in Aceh, the Indonesian province worst hit by the giant waves. “I lost my three daughters, and now they have been replaced by three other girls.”

Many of the 230,000 people killed across Asia were children, unable to swim or outrun the waves. Almost half the victims in the disaster were in Aceh, just east of where the giant earthquake struck.

Story continues below this ad

Ali’s tale mirrored that of thousands of parents in the province that morning. “I gripped onto one of my daughters but the tsunami took her away. I was also knocked over,” he said. “I tried to grab her, but I was not successful.”

His three new daughters were born normally, but will remain in hospital until they gain weight. The smallest weighs just 1.1 kg , the largest only 600 grams more.

“I hope they all survive,” said Ali’s wife, Mariati, as she took a break from breast-feeding.