British woman killed trying to rescue dogs from Tonga tsunami – National | Globalnews.ca

The body of Angela Glover, a 50-year-old British woman, has been found in the aftermath of a huge undersea volcanic eruption that triggered a tsunami.

Glover, from Brighton, went missing after an undersea volcano erupted near Tonga on Saturday, which sent large waves crashing along the Pacific nation shorelines.

Her brother, Nick Eleini, told Sky News that his sister, an animal charity worker, died while she and her husband were out saving animals.

“I understand that this terrible accident came about as they tried to rescue their dogs. As you can imagine, her family is devastated. And we respectfully request that we are given privacy to grieve,” Eleini told the publication.

According to Australian news site News.com.au, Glover’s husband, James, survived the wave by clinging to a tree. His wife and dogs, however, were washed away.

The website reports James was the one who found his wife’s body.

Glover shared a final tragic Instagram post of a gorgeous sunset, the day after the volcano erupted.

“Everything’s fine,” she assured her followers, adding that the area was still under tsunami warnings.

According to The Guardian, Glover had lived in Tonga since 2015, after leaving a job in marketing and advertising.

A love of animals prompted Glover and her husband to open an animal shelter and rehabilitation facility called Taws (Tonga Animal Welfare Society).

“Angela and James loved their life in Tonga and adored the Tongan people, in particular the Tongan love of family and the Tongan culture. From [when she was] a little girl it was always Angela’s dream to swim with whales and it was Tonga that gave her the opportunity that allowed her to fulfil these dreams,” Eleini continued.

Glover’s death is the first death on Tonga to be recorded in the wake of the volcano and subsequent tsunami. Waves that crossed the Pacific Ocean drowned two people in Peru and caused minor damage from New Zealand to Santa Cruz, California.

A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska and sent pressure shockwaves around the planet twice, altering atmospheric pressure that may have briefly helped clear out the fog in Seattle, according to the National Weather Service. Large waves were detected as far away as the Caribbean due to pressure changes generated by the eruption.

New Zealand and Australia were able to send military surveillance flights to Tonga on Monday to assess the damage.

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A towering ash cloud since Saturday’s eruption had prevented earlier flights. New Zealand hopes to send essential supplies, including much-needed drinking water, on a military transport plane Tuesday.

U.N. humanitarian officials and Tonga’s government “report significant infrastructural damage around Tongatapu,” the main island in the archipelago, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“There has been no contact from the Ha’apai Group of islands, and we are particularly concerned about two small low-lying islands — Mango and Fonoi — following surveillance flights confirming substantial property damage,” Dujarric said.

— With files from The Associated Press