KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- An Indonesian tsunami survivor rescued after five days at sea learned Wednesday that she'll have her first baby in less than six months.
Malawati, 24, is recovering in a northern Malaysian hospital after being plucked from shark-infested waters last Friday by a Malaysian tuna boat west of Sumatra island.
She refused to tell anyone that she was more than three months pregnant because she feared she had lost the child, said Helena Tuanakotta, the Indonesian vice consul in Penang state.
Doctors were stunned when medical tests revealed she was carrying a baby and that it was alive and well in the womb, Tuanakotta said Thursday.
Malawati is expected to deliver the baby in five to six months.
"I am happy and thankful," Malawati told officials when she heard the news Wednesday.
Malawati was swept out to sea from her home in Aceh on December 26 when the tsunami hit.
She clung to a sago palm tree and kept alive by eating its fruit and bark.
Malawati suffered fish bites and sun burn, but she is expected to be released from the hospital next week.
Officials have not traced Malawati's husband, who was swept out with her and then vanished.
Malawati, a coconut farmer who has been married for four years, would probably remain in Malaysia until some of her relatives in Aceh are found, Tuanakotta said.
A happier episode in Malaysia (finally...)
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