The Svaerd siblings and Karin in the sea on December 26 as the first of the six tsunamis approach the Hat Rai Lay beach in Thailand. (AFP)

Stockholm, Jan. 2 (AFP): Pictures of a Swedish mother dashing into the waves to save her children inspired faith in the human spirit when facing disaster as they continued to be shown in media around the world today.

Karin Svaerd, 37, was photographed a week ago in a series of heart-rending exclusive AFP photos as she daringly sprinted into the waves in a desperate bid to save her family while on holiday in Thailand.

Her identity, and her family?s fate, remained unknown till this weekend, when she came forward to say they had all survived.

?She has become the whole world?s heroine,? said tabloid Expressen in a headline today.

The series of three pictures shows confused vacationers on the Rai Lay beach in Krabi, looking at the water receding prior to the tsunami. Another shot shows swimmers running to the shore once they saw the tower of water approaching.

But Karin, unlike everyone else in the picture, was running out towards the wave in a determined bid to reach her family. Her children, Anton, 14, Filip, 11 and Viktor, 10, did not see the wave. Witnesses heard her scream: ?Oh my god, not my children!?

?I was yelling at them to run, but they couldn?t hear me,? Karin told Expressen, describing her desperation as her family snorkelled in the water, unaware of the looming danger.

?I could hear people shouting at me, ?get off the beach? as I ran past them, but I ignored them,? UK daily News of the World quoted Karin as saying.

Karin saw the white wall of water coming towards her, faster and faster.

?I did not care. I was looking at my children. I wanted to hold them and care for them,? she told News of the World.

The family got caught in the tsunami and was tossed around under water. But one by one they managed to get to their feet and make it to higher ground.

An hour after the first wave hit, the family members, including Karin?s husband and sister who were sunbathing on the beach, managed to locate each other.

?It is impossible to describe the feeling that we all survived with just a few scratches,? Karin said. But in the end it was, at least for her and her loved ones.

Anton and his little brother Filip were hurled among the beach bungalows, their father landed in a swimming pool, while Karin somehow got hold of a tree trunk.

?When the next wave came, I could hardly hold on any more. The water climbed over my head. Then came more waves, and with them lots of deckchairs from the pool area,? she told the paper. But after an hour, the whole extended family holidaying together was reunited, alive.

Karin and her family had travelled to Thailand to celebrate the 40th birthday of her brother and sister, who are twins.

Two days after the disaster, she returned to Sweden to find that she was about to become famous, thanks to the pictures by an amateur photographer, who took the photos and then ran for his life himself.