London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Tonga tsunami: Body of Briton Angela Glover found, says brother

Tonga tsunami: Body of Briton Angela Glover found, says brother

The body of a British woman swept away by the tsunami in Tonga has been found, her brother says.

Nick Eleini told broadcasters the family was "devastated" after Angela Glover died trying to rescue her dogs.

It is the first known death in the disaster, caused when an underwater volcano erupted, sending a tsunami towards the Pacific island nation.

But communications have been badly damaged, making it hard to establish the scale of the destruction.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano, which erupted on Saturday, was about 40 miles (65km) north of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, where Angela and her husband James had made their home.

Speaking outside their mother's home in Hove, Mr Eleini said he understood Angela's body was found by her husband.

Brighton-born Angela, 50, had been living in Tonga since marrying James, he said, and they became "well-loved by locals and ex-pats alike".

"Angela and James loved their life in Tonga and adored the Tongan people. In particular, they loved the Tongan love of family and Tongan culture," he said.

Mr Eleini said his sister was "a beautiful woman" who "would walk into a room and just light it up with her presence".

"Angela was the heart of our family, she was the emotional heart of our family," he said. "I will miss her and I will think of her every day until the day I die. My mother is just broken at the moment, she is just absolutely shattered."

After they married in 2015 and moved to Tonga, James began running a tattoo parlour called the Happy Sailor, employing and training Tongans, while Angela founded the Tongan Animal Welfare Society, Mr Eleini said.

She had "a deep love of dogs" and her organisation sheltered and rehabilitated stray animals before trying to find homes for them, he added.

"The uglier the dog, the more she loved it. She just loved them all, she was totally dedicated to it."

She had worked in London in the advertising industry before starting a new life in the south Pacific.

Angela is known in Tonga for her work on animal welfare


Mr Eleini said she loved the ocean and had been drawn to live in Tonga by a childhood dream of swimming with whales.

"It was Tonga that allowed her to fulfil these dreams."

He brother said that despite the image of idyllic island life, it could be "pretty tough" there, with cyclones common at this time of year.

"But it's also a beautiful life. She was living her dream. She always wanted to live in a place like Tonga. We are so proud she was able to fulfil that."

Meanwhile, Tongans overseas have been left for two days unable to reach family and friends back home following the disaster.


Surveillance flights sent by New Zealand revealed "significant damage" along the western coast of Tongatapu, the country's main island.

Television New Zealand's Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver said it was expected to take at least two weeks before international phones and internet links were restored, due to damage inflicted on a crucial undersea cable.

The Red Cross estimates 80,000 people may have been affected by the tsunami, and dust from the volcano could contaminate water supplies.

Some officials have also voiced concern that relief efforts could spread Covid in the country, which only recorded its first coronavirus cases in October.


Angela Glover's brother Nick Eleini: "I don't think we'll ever get over this"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×