EXCLUSIVE STORY FOR ISLEOFMAN.COM
A PARTY of Manx residents on holiday in New Zealand has had a narrow escape during the earthquakes which have devastated the town of Christchurch, killing more than 100 people.
Six of the Manx party of eight had stayed in a central Christchurch hotel which was completely flattened 24 hours later in the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, killing most of the people still in the hotel.
The party of six are all residents from the north of the Isle of Man on a group holiday who had met up with another two friends, also from the Ramsey area, for a few days in Christchurch.
Karen McGurgan telephoned isleofman.com in the Isle of Man last night when mobile phone connections were re-established for the first time since the earthquake hit New Zealand’s South Island on Monday.
“Communicating with family and friends back home has been very difficult, but my phone has just come on and I wanted to let you know that we are all OK and for you to tell everyone in the Island that we are alright,” said Karen who is touring New Zealand on holiday with her partner Ken Harding.
“It was just unbelievable. We were playing golf just a few miles from the centre of Christchurch. There was this really strange noise which sounded like the rumbling of a train. Then suddenly the whole fairway in front of us started to move - it looked like a sheet blowing in the wind, like the tide coming in.
“We both fell to the ground - you couldn’t stand up. It was incredible. Huge thick tree trunks were moving and swaying like they were tiny branches. To be honest, I initially thought there was something wrong with me because it was all so surreal, so unbelievable.
“We went back to the hotel straight away and it was just a mess. The whole town was a disaster area and everyone was telling everybody else to get out of town. They were worried about another after-shock earthquake.”
The previous evening, Karen and Ken had joined with a party of six friends from the Isle of Man who were also touring New Zealand. Joy Morris, Pat Heesom, Rosemary Sinclair, Maureen Platt, Stella Jelski and Catherine Green stopped off in Christchurch to join their Manx friends for a pre-arranged dinner together.
The dinner took place in the hotel where the party of six were staying. 24 hours later the hotel was completely destroyed in the earthquake and many people were killed. “They were incredibly lucky,” said Karen. “I’ve not spoken to them since they left Christchurch because the mobile phone system has been completely out since Monday. But I know they were on their way further south towards Queenstown. I’m sure they are all OK.”
On the day of the earthquake Karen and Ken decided to go to the airport to try to get a connection to go north but the airport was “absolute bedlam”, said Karen.
“We decided to hire a car and drive north towards the whale watching town of Kaikoura on the east cost of South Island, but when they arrived the entire town was packed with people who had escaped the devastation and all accommodation was taken.
“We didn’t know what to do because there was a massive shortage of petrol because of what happened. The main oil terminal for the area in the port near Christchurch was severely damaged in the earthquake,” said Karen. “We didn’t want to drive any further and then find we had run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere.
“We tried every hotel and boarding house in Kaikoura and were giving up hope when we were visiting the last bed & breakfast. We told the owner we didn’t know what to do. He told us to wait a minute and then came back to say that his parents-in-law would put us up in their own home.
“We stayed there for two nights, and they gave us a room and fed us but they wouldn’t take a single penny. The spirit of the people and their generosity has been absolutely fantastic. We could not have been welcome or cared for any better.
She said that when they finally left Kaikoura the military police were on guard at petrol stations and there were half mile long queues to get petrol. They finally managed to get petrol and drive north and then move on to North Island. Today (Friday) they are staying in Auckland and are scheduled to return home to the Isle of Man by Monday night.
“It has been an unbelievable experience. We have been very, very lucky and the girls were incredibly lucky to leave their hotel only a few hours before the earthquake hit. I will admit that I was frightened to death. We are very, very lucky to be alive.”
Hundreds are people are still missing as search-and-rescue workers attempt to clean up the devastation which has been left by the earthquake and the death toll is expected to rise to well over 300, with only very few people recovered alive from the rubble of the city in the last few days.
The Isle of Man has always had strong connections with New Zealand with many Manx people setting up home in the country since the end of World War Two. As the telephone system gets gradually re-connected, we will provide further information on the safety of Manx families and friends on our newsroom website as we receive it.
Also see: Port St Mary man says situation in New Zealand is "distressing" - with pictures
