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'The water is coming': Grieving wife recalls moment she lost husband in Indonesia quake-tsunami

Fitria was dragged inland by the tsunami, gasping for air and bashed against buildings and trees. Her husband has not been seen.

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Woman's week-long search for husband
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One week ago, Fitria Lontaain was strolling along the beach in Palu, hand in hand with her husband Victor.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"I thought it was a normal earthquake so I just stood there and my husband looked at me and I looked at him," she told me.

"Then my husband suddenly looked behind and he saw the waves coming. And he said to me, 'the water's coming!' and I tried to grab him and he tried to grab me but the water was already on us."

Within seconds the 6m (20ft) wall of water slammed into them, separating the pair.

Victor has been missing since he became separated from his wife after the earthquake struck
Image: Victor has been missing since he became separated from his wife after the earthquake struck

Fitria was dragged a kilometre inland by the tsunami wave, gasping for air and being bashed against buildings and trees. Her husband was nowhere to be seen.

Now, despite her injuries, she's back at the beach everyday searching for him.

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Clutching a T-shirt like the one he was wearing at the time, she hopes it will jog a witness's memory. Her face is bruised and scarred, and etched with sadness.

"He's a really nice guy, he's a very welcoming person and everybody really cares about him," she sobs.

Fitria Lontaain says the whereabouts of her husband Victor are unknown
Image: Despite her injuries, Fitria is back at the beach searching for her husband every day

Gingerly walking along the seafront she is clearly in huge pain, physically and emotionally.

She's found Victor's ID card, but not him: "I want to find his body so I can take it home with me. I can make a good grave for him, a really good one."

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The family still looking for answers in Palu six days on

It is almost unbearable to watch her grief.

Before last week Fitria was planning her future, hoping for children.

Now her only hope is that she finds the man she loved so deeply, and gives him the funeral he deserves.