Yeoh Chun Lian, 29, said he grabbed his wife and two children to safety after the earthquake and tsunami struck north-eastern Japan on March 11.

The Kedah-born factory interpreter described it as a most horrific experience which would not easily be forgotten.

Yeoh who arrived home via flight MH 89 at KL International Airport (KLIA) at 5pm today said factory workers rushed out after the tsunami warning was sounded.

NONE Scared for the safety of wife Chang Miao, 29, and children Yun Ci, three, and Hao Han, 11 months, Yeoh ran home and took them to high ground.

"I did not dare to take the car. We ran as hard as possible to a hill that I considered safe. I only thought of saving my wife and children as they are everything to me."

The family members were confirmed free from the effects of radiation due to leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Yeoh, who worked at a factory in Sendai, said they stayed on the hill for five days along with hundreds of other victim families before transferred by bus to Tokyo.

"Fortunately I brought some food. When we ran out of food, the others gave us some. We shared what was available. I don't know what happened to my house," he said.

Nabilah Ibrahim, 26, who was doing her PhD at Tohoku University in Electronic Medical Ultrasonics, said she rushed out of the laboratory on realising a tremor was occurring.

Meanwhile, Atomic Energy Licensing Board Technical Support Division director Mohd Yasin Sudin confirmed that all passengers from Japan were free from the effects of radiation.

- Bernama