|
SA tourists escape quake drama
14/05/2008 07:18 - (SA)
Sarel van der Walt, Beeld
Shanghai - When something landed on the floor in the room next to his, Derek Dicks thought an earthquake had also hit this Chinese city.
Dicks of Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, who was staying in a hotel room on the 51st floor, was speaking about the earthquake that hit Sichuan province on Monday.
"Because I'm wary of heights, before I went to bed I made sure that I knew where the emergency exit was. There was also a torch next to my bed - just in case.
"When something fell on the ground in the room next to mine late at night, I woke up. My first thought was that an earthquake had hit Shanghai too," said Dicks with a smile.
He and his wife, Jolene, were members of a South African tour group going to see the famous terra cotta soldiers outside the city of Xian, when the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale hit southwestern Sichuan.
Weren't aware of quake's extent
The group was still in buses when shock waves reached Xian. They did not feel the shock waves.
Shortly after their arrival, visitors were asked to leave the museum.
The South Africans, who were not yet aware of the extent of the earthquake in Sichuan, were among the first people to enter the museum when it was opened again a few minutes later.
When they had to fly from Xian to Shanghai later, the South Africans' flight was delayed by about an hour, presumably because flights had been redirected because of the earthquake.
|
News
