Woodford Green man caught up in Indonesian earthquake horror

James Kelsall, a 28-year-old from Woodford Green in London, had been visiting palm-fringed Gili Trawangan with his partner, Helen.

The couple became stranded after a magnitude 7.0 quake laid waste to the island of Lombok and the surrounding area - in the second quake they had experienced during their holiday.

Speaking from a beach as he awaited evacuation, the teacher told the Press Association: "There were lots of injuries and pain on the island from buildings that had collapsed onto people.

"The most terrifying part was the tsunami warning that followed.

"All the locals were frantically running and screaming, putting on life jackets.

"We followed them up to higher ground, which was a steep, uneven climb to the top of a hill in darkness."

Mr Kelsall said he had been travelling to a restaurant on the opposite side of the island to his accommodation when the quake struck.

"The ground started shaking, it was difficult to stand," he said.

"There was rumbling and then all the power went off. We ran to the beach to be clear of buildings which we could hear falling all around."

He added: "It was literally the most terrifying thing I have experienced and the uncertainty of the tsunami, I had pictures of Thailand in my head from when it happened there."

Swathes of Thailand were destroyed in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Power had still not been restored to the island by Monday morning, Mr Kelsall said, but the impact was evident.

He continued: "Homes and livelihoods ruined - very sad for the locals who rely completely on tourism."

Mr Kelsall and his partner have been awaiting rescue on the beach of Gili Trawangan for more than six hours.

"It's completely chaotic," he said, adding that more than 1,000 tourists were stranded.

"Lots of distraught kids and families - I'm told 19 deaths on the island, by some Australians who were with the medical team.

"The rescue services are doing a good job but it's very stressful, lots of locals are frantic and climbing onto the boats, some men are being physically kicked by the police/navy in charge.

"We've been on the beach waiting for six hours, but also spent all last night on the beach as we weren't able to return to the hotel to get our things. Complete power supply failure here."

The quake hit during the last night of their stay on the island, which came just days after a similar disaster.

"We were in the first earthquake, which was terrifying but much less than this one," he said.

One British tourist desperately scrambled up a tree on the island of Gili Trawangan when tsunami warnings sounded, a relative said.

Katy Flay, 33, had been on holiday in the area with her 29-year-old partner Stef, according to her brother.

The tourist, from Leeds, had been on the phone as the quake struck.

Brother Ash Flay said: "It's been an absolute nightmare, I received a phone call from Katy whilst the earthquake was happening, she was distressed - crying and screaming.

"All I could hear was crashes, she then called again and said a tsunami warning is out and she's climbed a tree, doesn't know what's happening and then she was un-contactable for two hours.

"Katy climbed up one of the trees and then somebody kicked her out of it so she had to climb another one, and injured her foot when she was running to high ground during the tsunami warning.

"It was the worst two hours of my life."

Ms Flay told her brother authorities were demanding money from tourists before allowing them aboard rescue boats.

In a message, she wrote: "We have tried to get on many boats.

"Boats (are) leaving half empty as you need a ticket... no boats for everyone just selected people.

"People are punching and hitting each other."

She added: "Lombok is very dangerous... people are looting the island."

Her brother told the Press Association: "The subsequent rescue effort from Gili Trawangan has been nothing short of a disgrace, they're not boarding foreigners unless they have money."

Helen Brady, 29, a writer from Manchester, said she and her boyfriend had narrowly escaped death after the earthquake began while they were walking through Gili Trawangan.

She told the Press Association: "All the lights went out and most buildings [were] demolished. If we'd have been one minute slower we'd have been dead, or at the very least severely injured."

She said there had been confusion after that point, adding: "[Because] it's a small island no one knows what to do... we climbed up to the highest point and then they lifted the warning so everyone went down and slept on the beach."

Ms Brady shared a picture of huge crowds attempting to get on board a boat that was evacuating people, and said she had been waiting on the beach for eight hours so far.

Another British couple had been visiting Gili Trawangan on their honeymoon at the time of the quake.

Nigel Rushworth said newlywed brother Clive and his wife Charmaine McLeod were struggling to leave the island. He said he had last spoken to them at around 3.30am UK time.

The 36-year-old said: "They were told to leave high ground and go to port, had been there for hours yet no boats to take anyone off, no authority presence, no food or water, just potentially thousands of worried tourists and locals waiting for someone to come and any information.

"The tremors were continuing and nearby structures had crumbled. I can't reach them by phone now.

"The (Foreign Office) say authorities are aware and rescues are in progress, yet they said that at the same time people there are saying there are no boats or anyone coordinating anything.

"The worry is two-fold. Firstly they had no supplies or idea of timescale and secondly aftershocks continuing, they were all by the port area so a high risk of tsunami if another major quake happens."

Mr Rushworth said the couple had been on the island "about a week, half way into their honeymoon".

He added: "They arrived on one of the islands just after the first quake happened I think, but that island wasn't really affected then aside from feeling some of the tremors, Lombok took the hit.

"This latest quake, even though by Lombok again, has caused damage on Gili Trawangan so presumably more powerful."

A young British family visiting Gili Trawangan were said to be "traumatised" by their experience.

The family-of-four from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire had witnessed looting and panic after the earthquake, a relative said.

The group included a 38-year-old mother, 40-year-old father and two children, aged seven and five.

Their relative requested to keep their identities anonymous, saying the family were now in a hotel with access to water.

He said: "We've been looking at trying to charter helicopters to get them off the island, but we've heard now they're booked up until August 15.

"My daughter did say there was looting going on, but we've had another message to say the authorities had taken control and some order had been resumed.

"The kids are quite traumatised, I've spoken to my daughter and she's clearly very frightened and very scared - frankly they just want to come home.

"They were caught up in the first quake, so they've had two quakes in less than a week - I think it's going to be Brighton or Devon next year for them."

Take That singer Gary Barlow was also caught up in the earthquake.

He wrote on Twitter: "This morning I bumped into so many British families leaving Bali. How lucky we are to have that choice.

"I've had the misfortune of being in 7 earthquakes but none have felt more deep and raw as last nights. Followed by numerous after shocks.

"Praying for everyone affected."

Mr Rushworth, whose brother and sister-in-law are on Gili Trawangan for their honeymoon, shared a message from them online.

The couple are awaiting rescue by Indonesian authorities.

It said: "It isn't happening... they turned up and can't get the boats to the shore so we are stuck.

"They haven't communicated with us, haven't given us food or water and only sent in a drone while watching us from the water.

"(The) Indonesian government have deserted us."

Restaurants and bars in Ubud, Bali, emptied as the earthquake rattled the island, a witness said.

Matt Roche, a 27-year-old tourist from Country Durham, said roads had been rendered impassable. He had been on holiday with his girlfriend, Lesley, 30.

The self-employed bricklayer said: "Whilst having a drink, my girlfriend felt something and looked over at me and said, 'is that an earthquake?', as she was here when the one last week struck.

"I replied, 'no it can't be', then looked up and saw all the lights in the bar shaking violently.

"As soon as the Balinese staff started to scream and run it hit me that it was, so I jumped up, grabbed my partner and ran into the street.

"I then lost here briefly in the crowd and when I found her I made sure we kept moving away from power lines and high buildings to be safe. When we have been out today we have had to take different routes because of bridge collapses.

"It does strike fear into you, obviously total panic from everyone around you running and screaming, even though it's over."