A MOTHER and daughter from Shrewton feared they would never see each other again after an earthquake "virtually flattened" the island they were visiting in Indonesia.

Jasmine Rifat, 19, and mother Jules, 52, were on separate islands when an earthquake hit on Sunday, August 5.

At least 91 people were killed, and hundreds wounded, during the quake, reaching 6.9 on the Richter scale.

Jules said: “I thought we were in a war zone, the place was virtually flattened.

“There was a tsunami warning and we sent each other what we thought would be last messages.”

Jasmine is an acting student at Falmouth University and had been in Indonesia for three weeks with Camp Bali, teaching in schools in Bali and Lombok.

Jules, a teacher at Avon Valley College in Durrington, had arranged to fly out to meet her for a holiday.

They were eventually reunited on the beach at Bangsal, a tiny port in Northwestern Lombok, after Jules had spent around eight hours searching for Jasmine among the boats: “I literally had to search every boat. I arrived at eight in the morning, and she finally came across at about four in the afternoon.

“On the boats I was seeing, there were dead bodies - casualties, locals, tourists - just coming past you.

“Then I see her, and she’s not imaginary, which had happened several times, but is actually her. We ran and grabbed each other, and sobbed and hugged, and wouldn’t let go.”

Jasmine said: “I’d been on the beach in Gili Trawangan since dawn broke, about six in the morning.

“The night of the earthquake was better than the day after. The night of the earthquake, there was a sense of community, of people coming together to survive, whereas the next day it was every man for himself.”

Jules and Jasmine now want to reach out to a family in Mataram who helped them - Rafael Boleng and his son, Zico, who is nine years old.

Rafael gave the women food and shelter as they got back on their feet and looked for flights home.

“They treated us like we were their own”, said Jules.

They are now raising money for Rafael’s family, whose house was damaged in the earthquake and the aftershocks, and who are now staying in tents until accommodation is found, and have set up a Go Fund Me page.