THIS photograph captures the moment holidaymakers fled the deadly incoming tsunami on the paradise island of Phi Phi, unaware of the devastation about to be wrought.

A few seconds after the picture was taken, by Staveley man Steve Irwin, two of those captured on film were caught by the waves and are now missing, believed dead, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

Mr Irwin and his wife, Hannah, were on honeymoon on the island when they witnessed the terrifying Boxing Day events.

Mr Irwin's picture shows a Swiss woman in the foreground, called Marguerite, who is turning to look at the water, and the tsunami, which is gathering pace and heading towards the beach.

Her husband, Ludwig, wearing a white cap and smiling, is unaware of what was to come. When the Irwins left Phi Phi, Marguerite had not been found.

Behind Marguerite is a Thai boatman. The next picture that Mr Irwin took, a few seconds later, shows the boatman heading back down the beach to secure his vessel. He and his colleagues are also missing.

As the couple recovered from their ordeal, it emerged that volunteers from mountain rescue teams in the Lake District were on standby and preparing for a possible deployment to help in the humanitarian effort in the Idonesian province of Aceh.

Fund-raising for the victims of the Asian earthquake has also been gathering momentum, with scores of initiatives and events taking place in South Lakeland and Furness.