A 30-year-old Australian tourist has told of the moment she thought she would die in the freezing waters of Greenland when an "iceberg tsunami" threatened to engulf the boat she was travelling on.

Sarah Williams of Adelaide said she was "just happy to be alive" after video of her near-death experience went viral on YouTube this week.

The video, uploaded by an accompanying fisherman, shows a massive piece of ice hitting the water, pushing a tidal wave towards Ms Williams' boat.

"I thought it was the end," she told ninemsn.

"I heard some very loud cracks, they were like gunshots.

"I don't think any of us expected such a large piece to come down, but then it all came crashing down at once.

"I thought the boat was finished with and we would all end up in the water – we would have only had two minutes max because it's so cold."

While Ms Williams went to Greenland with the intention of visiting the glacier, it was only by chance that she actually got to see it.

"I went down to the fishing wharf to talk to some fisherman because I had missed the tourist tours," she said.

"It took some convincing but I eventually persuaded this one fisherman to take me out on his boat – he even brought his nephew, Jens, to help translate."

While Ms Williams tried to take refuge inside the boat, Jens was still filming the ordeal outside.

"I asked him today why he didn't run and he said 'I was looking through the camera lens and it looked so much smaller'," she said.

Source:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8506744/iceberg-tsunami-tourist-happy-to-be-alive