DEC 29: THREE Brits survived the Asian tsunami by clinging to a floating fridge ... only to find themselves surrounded by crocodiles.

Last night, frantic attempts were being made to rescue dad Duncan Ridgeley and his two children.

He made a desperate phone call to the BBC pleading for help yesterday.

Duncan told how he clung to a fridge after giant waves devastated the remote Sri Lankan island where he was staying.

Duncan, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, gripped his son as his daughter Sasha, 12, grabbed hold.

After making it to high ground, Duncan said: 'There are about 30 of us Europeans stuck here with water all around us, with crocodiles and the like surrounding us.

'We can't get out. No one knows we are here. Please tell the Foreign Office that we are here.

'The waves came from nowhere and swept away every hotel by the beach.

'I managed to get hold of my son's hand and reach safety. We only arrived here on Christmas Day - we wanted to get away to somewhere peaceful.'

Duncan's wife Penny and their other child also survived. The family had moved to Sri Lanka to start a new life.

Details emerged as the death toll approached 25,000 with fears for at least 30,000 more who are missing. Bodies were piled high in some areas.

Thirteen Britons were among those killed by the 9.0 magnitude undersea earthquake.

Ten died in Thailand, one in Sri Lanka and two in the Maldives. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted the final number of UK casualties is likely to be much higher.

He said: 'We have had a number of deaths of British nationals reported to our Embassies and High Commissions but they have not yet been confirmed. The numbers will be higher.'

A series of amazing tales emerged yesterday.

One Scots family cheated death while partying with 40 British friends on a beach south of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Neil Butler, wife Nicky and children Alex, 16, and Georgia, 14, fled as the killer wave hit the hotel they own.

They were left waist deep in water and remain trapped in an isolated village.

Neil's sister Gay Barker, who lives in Shropshire, said last night: 'They said it was a miracle the tragedy happened during daylight.

'The water has become polluted and Neil is just trying to get everyone out.'

Neil and the family live in Glasgow but visit Sri Lanka to check on their business.

In Thailand, British nurse Karen Goh, 38, had resigned herself to drowning after the tidal wave hit Phuket but survived to become a hero.

Karen, of Wolverhampton, had been walking with her husband, Dr Cheh Goh. She said: 'It was like I was in a washing machine.

'I lost hold of my husband and was being dragged around underwater. I got this resigned feeling, an acceptance that I was drowning.

'Then the water spat me out and it seemed to recede. I managed to grab hold of a branch of a tree and hung on for dear life.

'A man grabbed my arm and dragged me up on to a raised platform. I saw people with their stomachs broken open, limbs broken and muscles hanging out.

'I got some sheeting and set about trying to staunch people's wounds.' She was reunited with Cheh when she climbed a tall building for safety.

Surfer Mike Rigg, 33, from Wirral, near Liverpool, told how he surfed to safety when the tsunami hit the resort of Lohifushi in the Maldives.

He said there was a 6ft surge in the waves but fought his way to shore.

Some British survivors began to arrive home yesterday. Nurse Debbie Bates, 39, from Wokingham, Surrey, told how a fortune-teller's prediction came true.

She was having breakfast at her hotel in the Sri Lankan resort of Ahungala when the first giant wave struck.

She said: 'I saw a palmist the day before. He said, 'Stay out of the sea, big wave coming.' At the time, I thought it was a joke - now I just think it is freaky.'

(By Craig Mcdonald, Daily Record, UK)

Washington Post: Vacationing Bush 'insensitive'...

There was an international outpouring of support after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and even some administration officials familiar with relief efforts said they were surprised that Bush had not appeared personally to comment on the tsunami tragedy. "It's kind of freaky," a senior career official said.

Noting that the disaster occurred at a time when large numbers of people in many nations -- especially Muslim ones such as Indonesia -- object to U.S. policies in Iraq, he said Bush was missing an opportunity to demonstrate American benevolence.

"People do watch and see what we do," he said. "Here's an opportunity to remind people of the good we do, and he [Bush] can do it without changing his policy on Iraq or terrorism."

Among the world's two dozen wealthiest countries, the United States often is among the lowest in donors per capita for official development assistance worldwide, even though the totals are larger. According to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development of 30 wealthy nations, the United States gives the least -- at 0.14 percent of its gross national product, compared with Norway, which gives the most at 0.92 percent.