He and his wife Anette were enjoying their Christmas holidays in Phuket, Thailand, when the Tsunami struck. He was whirled about in the water, thrown against a building and into a garage, which filled with water, but just as he was about to drown, the garage fell apart, and he was whirled out. He got away with bruises and a broken arm. His wife Anette, who had managed to run farther away from the ocean, got away with a broken foot.