Dubai: What was planned as a spiritual retreat and a relaxing holiday turned out to be a horrifying experience for a group of Dubai residents who returned home on Tuesday after narrowly escaping the devastating Nepal earthquake.
Returning among the survivors of the near-death experience were a couple of Emirati women who were rescued by the UAE Embassy officials from New Delhi.
The duo, along with a dozen others, reached Nepal on April 22 and after couple of days of relaxing went through what could easily be the most terrifying ordeal of their lives.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated the Himalayan nation on Saturday has caused the death of more than 5,000 people, with the toll expected to rise alarmingly.
“I was at the hotel, sitting with a few others of our group. We were listening to the instructions for the rest our trip, that is when the earth began to shake and everybody started running out. I fell on the floor and I saw the earth cracking in front of me. I was rolling on the grass, unable to get up I held tight on a tree and it continued to shake for several seconds,” said Sara Abdullah Al Badi, who survived the quake unhurt.
What followed was a four-day ordeal of survival through a series of aftershocks and tremors that caused panic, chaos and fear.
“Thankfully, everyone at our hotel survived the first earthquake, but all of us were shocked and we were scared to return to our rooms. I called the embassy in New Delhi, because there is not UAE embassy in Kathmandu, and spoke with the ambassador. Next day the embassy sent a car and dropped us at the airport,” added Sara.
But when Sara and here friend reached the airport the first major aftershock struck, causing more panic and fear.
“There was chaos and people were running helter-skelter. There were hundreds of people at the airport. We got stuck at the airport for a day as aeroplanes were unable to land and finally on Monday we got our flight back,” said Sara.
However, the other Dubai residents were not as lucky, as they had to endure several more hours.
“Every second spent after the earthquake was a nightmare. Just before the earthquake there was small party going on in the law of the hotel near the swimming pool, when it struck, water in the swimming pool came out in the shape of a massive wave and knocked out everyone. We thought it was a tsunami, but luckily all of us survived,” said Janna Kudrav, a long-time Dubai resident, who returned unscathed on Tuesday.
As there were several aftershocks, she added that it felt like the earth was continuously shaking all day and night.
“We were unable to sleep or eat. Every time we calmed down or settled a bit, there was another aftershock and we ran out. For three days we were constantly running out and in,” said Janna.
Janna and 14 others went on a six-day trip that would see them visit temples, enjoy meditating sessions and meet orphans, but their plans were literally turned upside down.
“We enjoyed for a couple days, but after the earthquake struck we were just praying and hoping that we would survive and return home. But we were lucky that hotel we were staying in was a bit away from the city and it survived the devastation. We had food and water supply as well as power and internet connections so we were constantly in touch with our families and also received regular updates about what was happening,” she added.
Among the survivors is Lebanese national Aznive Tossounian, who called her return to Dubai “a miracle.”
“It’s nothing but a miracle that we survived and we are back home. I felt as if there was a special force that helped us remain calm and together. I had seen devastations before like the 15 years of war in Lebanon, but I felt there is nothing like what we saw in Nepal. During the war we could manage to run away from violence but when the earth quake hits you just can’t run, you just have to stay where you are and pray that the earth doesn’t open up and swallow you,” said Aznive, describing her agonising stay in Nepal.
She added: “When the earthquake stuck I was in the room and everything was moving right and left. I tried to run out but the door wouldn’t open and when I finally managed to open it slammed back on my finger. I somehow held the door frame tight and stayed calm. It shook for about 20 seconds but it seemed like ages.
Describing the scene in the city she said: “When we were going to the airport, we could see the scale of devastation. We saw buildings collapsed and people don’t have places to stay. Continued aftershocks mean even those whose houses are safe are staying out in the open. There are places where people still can’t reach out, entire villages have been wiped out with all the people and the houses.”
