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The parents of a New Zealand toddler killed in the tsunami blame themselves for the child's death because they tried to flee the torrent in a rental car instead of running for high ground, says a family friend.
Neighbour and fellow tourist Ulrich Moritz says they blame themselves for making the wrong decision.
Mr Moritz, from Nelson, described how he and his own children, aged 6 and 4, ran for their lives when they saw the water being sucked out of the reef after the earthquake.
"I looked out and all the water was gone, sucked out. We all yelled 'The reef is dry, run, run, run'," Mr Moritz said.
"Everyone just started to run. We ran to a hill, scrambled and scrambled. We could hear it coming. You can't describe it."
The first wave crashed into the land 3m below the fleeing group.
"If we had been any slower, we would have been washed out. We were seconds from death," he said.
Two-year-old Alfie Cunliffe was with his parents Gary and Jill at the Taufua Lodge in Lalomanu, the village worst-hit by the Wednesday disaster.
The toddler was swept away in the tsunami, and search teams have yet to find his body.
His father Gary was also carried out to sea, but survived by clinging to the coral reef. He was swept back in with the second wave and was treated in hospital for internal injuries.
Alfie is one of four New Zealanders believed killed in the tsunami. Fears are held for the safety of two others.
Mr Moritz, his partner Stefanie Haerdtner and their children Samuel, 6, and Emily, 4, were staying with the Cunliffes, who are originally from the United Kingdom.
Both families live on the same street in Nelson, but did not know each other was holidaying in Samoa.
Clutching a tattered McDonald's paper bag containing their only possessions - a few travel documents, some cash, and Samuel's waterlogged passport - Mr Moritz says his family was seconds from death.
He says the earthquake was long, but felt mild. The children had recently been taught earthquake safety, so the four of them huddled under the table.
"We considered there could be a tsunami, but there were no warnings. We went and checked with the lady at the office, she hadn't heard anything either," said Mr Moritz.
He and his two children were on the beach after the quake with a group of other tourists, when a young couple shouted that the reef had gone dry.
As the first wave crashed into the land 3m below the fleeing group, people were holding on to tree roots to stay afloat, while others were swept out. Cars were tossed like toys into the cliffs, says Mr Moritz.
"I remember vividly a couple trapped in the back of a car, looking up at us as they were swept out.
"We couldn't believe it. Everything was gone when the first wave went out. It dragged everything out like a giant vacuum cleaner."
Mr Moritz said it was at the hospital that the Cunliffes realised Alfie was missing.
"At first only Jill was there. She started crying 'I've lost Alfie'. So we thought he could be with Gary. But then they pulled Gary in, and he was in quite bad shape.
"That's when she realised that no one had Alfie."
The Cunliffes are believed to have returned to New Zealand.
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