A British woman died in the Tonga tsunami after desperately trying to rescue her beloved pet dogs.
Angela Glover, 50, was attempting to make sure her dogs were safe when a huge wave carried her away.
Her brother, Nick Eleini, said the family were “devastated” by her death.
Angela, from Brighton, Sussex, had set up a dog rescue charity on Tonga.
Nick said he believed her body had been found by her husband James in some bushes.
Family and friends had appealed for information on her whereabouts after she went missing at the weekend.
They said in Facebook posts that James held on to a tree while Angela and her dogs were washed away.
Nick said: “I understand that this terrible accident came about as they tried to rescue their dogs.
“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.”
Nick, who lives in Sydney, Australia, flew into the UK yesterday to be with their mother, Jennifer, 85.
He said: “I haven’t even got the words in my vocabulary to describe how we’re feeling at the moment. This is just such a terrible shock.”
He added: “She was beautiful. She was a ray of sunshine. She would just walk into a room and lighten the room up and she loved her life, both when she was working in London and then she achieved her life’s dream of going to work in the south Pacific.
“She always wanted to swim with whales – that was a childhood ambition and that is what drove her to Tonga but she loved her life there and we are so proud of her achievements in Tonga, with both her and James starting a business and creating a life there.
“She loved animals and dogs particularly. She was a lovely girl and she was the centre of our family. We’re just broken.”
New Zealand and Australia yesterday dispatched military surveillance flights to assess the damage.
Unicef Pacific said it was ready to transport emergency supplies to Tonga, including water, sanitation, hygiene kits, water containers and buckets, water field test kits, recreational kits and tents.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
