video transcript

A Tohuko Broadcast Corporation reporter was in a taxi driving through the northeastern Japanese city of Sendai last Friday when the magnitude 9 earthquake struck. And then the tsunami swept through town. A documentary film aired Wednesday shows the reporter running from his taxi as the waters rush in. He runs for higher ground, along with a small group of passers-by -- eventually finding shelter in a three storey office building. Safely inside, they look on as the city is ruined before their eyes. The group then spots other survivors, including a man with two children clinging to a rooftop. Using a fire hose they found in the building, they collectively rescue the helpless strangers. It took the group an hour to pull this woman to safety. Thank you, thank you, she says. I thought was going to die. And as night descends on the city reduced to rubble, the man says he is just glad his children were saved. Travis Brecher, Reuters