British man living in Tonga says volcano eruption was ‘like bombs going off around the place’

A British man living in Tonga said the volcano eruption was “like bombs going off around the place” as the first images showed the total devastation caused by the tsunami.

After the loud sound of the explosion, Alistair Coldrick escaped with his family to higher ground.

He told Sky News: “We knew something catastrophic had happened.”

“We knew we had to get away from the water. We knew this was really bad, we just didn’t know how bad,” he added.

Communications remain limited to the outside world after a key undersea cable was destroyed in the volcano disruption.

Mr Coldrick, who organises whale watching tours on the island of Vava’u, admitted people were living in “fearful limbo” while waiting for communication to be restored.

He added: “There has been this general sense of shock because we are kind of in the dark because there is no effective communication between the islands.

“We are worried about people on the main island.”

The cable could take at least four weeks to be repaired, New Zealand’s foreign minister said,

“US cable company SubCom advises it will take at least four weeks for Tonga’s cable connection to be repaired,” a statement by New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry said.

At least three have died in the disaster including British national Angela Glover, 50.

Nick Eleini said his sister’s body had been found, adding that her husband had survived.

Australia and New Zealand deployed military surveillance flights to assess the damage.

Heartbreaking images have emerged of people looking in horror at their homes which were left in ruin and crushed by trees in the Kanokupolu village on the island of Tongatapu.

Photos also showed the scale of the devastation and cars buried beneath branches.

It comes after thick ash covering an airport runway delayed aid deliveries to Tonga.