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From the unbelievable chaos of the Tsunami disaster comes an incredible tale from Jim France of the Pavilion Hotel Group in
Bangkok.
At a resort on Phuket, one of the most popular attractions is (was) elephant rides. As many as eight people on one elephant,
first into the surrounding forest, then down to the beach, to lunch at a freshwater lagoon, then back to the hotel. The nine
elephants were kept chained to in-ground posts, not because they need to be, but because it made the mothers feel better because
their children seemed safe from a tromping when feeding the beasts.
About twenty minutes before the first wave hit, the elephants became extremely agitated and unruly. Four had just returned
from a trip, and
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their handlers had not yet chained them. They helped the other five tear free from their chains. They all then climbed a
hill and started bellowing. Many people followed them up the hill. Then the waves hit.
After the waves subsided, the elephants charged down from the hill and started picking up children with their trunks and
running them back up the hill. When all the children were taken care of, they started helping the adults.
They rescued forty-two people. Then they returned to the beach and carried up four dead bodies, one of a child. Not
until the task was done would they allow their handlers to mount them. Then with handlers atop, they began moving wreckage.
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