THERE ARE serious concerns for the safety of five Irish people who are missing in New Zealand following the earthquake in its second largest city, Christchurch.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said 200 Irish nationals are registered in the city. It says it has “general concerns” about 70 of those and “serious concerns” about five.
Two sisters from Swords in north Dublin now living in Christchurch last night told of their escape. Leah Heron (24), who works in Christchurch city council, was about to go on her lunch break when the tremor struck. “The whole building started to shake, I stood up to run but it was too strong. I got underneath my desk . . . computers and filing cabinets fell to the ground, the windows were smashed,” she recalled.
“It lasted about 30 seconds and then everyone started to run for the exit. It was chaotic. We went down the fire escape and there were bricks falling everywhere.
“About a minute later a violent aftershock happened. More buildings started to crumble. We just ran as fast as we could into open space. There were whole buildings flattened in the centre of town. It was very still and quiet for a few seconds . . . just horrific,” she added.
Leah recalled the scenes of devastation she witnessed.
“There was rubble and liquefaction everywhere and I could see bodies on the streets, covered over with blankets. There were people screaming and cars completely flattened.”
Her teacher sister Emily (27), was at home when the earthquake happened, and the tremors caused one wall of her apartment building to collapse. “The house started shaking. I jumped up and ran into the bedroom and got into the wardrobe,” Emily says.
“It was so scary. When it stopped I tried to go out the back door but it was jammed. The streets were filled with water and sewage and whole cars were swallowed up by the mess.
“I just grabbed a few essentials and ran out of there, I was terrified of another aftershock,” she added.
Emily’s boyfriend, Óisin Lavelle from Inishbofin, Co Galway, was doing tiling work in a city centre hotel. He had just come down from the seventh floor to the basement to have lunch when the earthquake occurred. “He was blessed to be where he was . . . to think if he had waited a couple more min-utes to have his lunch it could have been much worse,” Emily said.
Tennis Ireland, the national governing body for the sport, said a group of Irish players participating in the ITF Seniors World Team Championships, near Christchurch, were unharmed though damage had been caused to the tennis centre and to some hotels where players from several countries were staying.
Tennis Ireland chief executive Des Allen said: “The players felt the earthquake, but they have assured us they are safe and well. No damage was caused to their hotel, but understandably they are in a severe state of shock.”