Shaken, shocked but safe

Members of the SL football team recount the horrors of surviving the 7.8 Nepal quake:

There were two hundred Sri Lankans in Nepal when the country was hit by one of nature’s greatest furies, a 7.8 earthquake. The devastating quake claimed the lives of over 6000 Nepalis and foreigners. But the Sri Lankans, including some 120 students in the worst hit Phokhara, studying medicine at the famous Manipal University, miraculously escaped.

by Manjula Fernando

The Air Force C130 with 42 Sri Lankans on board landed at the Katunayake Airbase at precisely at 1.45 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal.

The first to disembark was the two heroic pilots, tasked with safely ferrying across the evacuees a five and a half hour flight from Kathmandu. They had flown the rescue teams and relief goods to Nepal on Sunday, making Sri Lanka one of the first three countries to reach out to the tremor shocked nation.

Following the pilots were the members of the under 14 football team. One by one, they disembarked and emotionally worshipped the ground. The 18-member team was in Nepal since April 18, playing friendly matches.

Kei Homma, the National Women’s Team coach was travelling in the car with the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Kathmandu, when the disaster struck.

“The impact of the quake was as if someone had kicked the car from behind. We both turned around to see none,” he said.

Having lived in a country like Japan, Homma said he had experienced earthquakes before, but it took a while for him to realise that there was major earthquake and the car was rocking as a result. There were waves of strong aftershocks.

The driver and the two of them struggled out of the car when the rocking ceased after about a minute. A parapet wall had collapsed ahead of them.

Tears of relief

Homma’s mind raced to his family in Japan, who did not know of his tour of Nepal with the team. Then he started to worry about the young players. They were visiting a museum at the time.

“I was worried about them and their families.” After a discussion Homma decided to proceed to the Japanese Embassy.

Chethiya Wijeratne

Kei Homma

“I had to go to the Japanese Embassy to report that I am unharmed. In the meantime, the Sri Lanka Ambassador had contacted the person in charge of the girls, to direct her to bring them safely to the Embassy.

Making contact

“Just after the incident the phonelines were jammed and we could not get any domestic calls, it took a while before making any contact.

“After about two hours the players managed to get together and reach to the embassy. The first night was spent at the ambassador’s house, where his wife offered nearly 30 of them a Sri Lankan meal and a place to rest. Two families and the team comprising 18 players and six officials were accommodated by the Ambassador till the Air Force flight which arrived Sunday morning was ready to take them home at 8.45 a.m. on Tuesday.

The flight experienced a minor technical fault and the return journey had to be delayed by a day or so until it was attended to.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Nepal, W.M. Seneviratne said even by Thursday television, internet, fax and other services in Kathmandu remained down but they were constantly monitoring the situation with the Sri Lankans who were staying behind despite the calamity.Since the office was crippled, he was multitasking from his official residence round the clock, fielding an unending stream of calls from media, family members of students in Nepal and the affected while coordinating the relief assistance from Sri Lanka. “The ground floor walls of the embassy suffered cracks. In the library, books were scattered all over and the glassware including the windows of the entire structure were shattered to pieces. It is a solid building and I don’t think we have much to worry though,” he said.

State of Emergency

The Ambassador said the whole ground shook like a swing and he had never experienced anything like that before. The Government of Nepal has declared a state of emergency till Sunday while the death toll from the previous Saturday’s disaster surpassed 6000 and kept on rising.

Despite the magnitude of the disaster, miraculously none of the 200 Sri Lankans in Nepal were injured during the strong tremors.

The young players who were visiting the Narayanhiti Palace Museum at the time, however, were badly shaken by the experience. Some of them had fainted seeing the impact of the strong earthquake that brought down beautiful chandeliers and smashed anything that was lose, in front of their eyes. “Some of the girls cried, and some fainted. I too cried, not knowing what to do,” Dilshani, one of the players told Sunday Observer shortly after their arrival at the Air Force camp at Katunayake.

“Later, when we heard about the disaster and how big it was, we were petrified.

“We were thrilled to go to Nepal and play football but no words can explain how happy and relieved we were when the flight touched down in Sri Lanka. All of us cheered,” Gowry and Tharmika, two players who represented the North said. They are from Mahajana College, Tellippalai, Jaffna.

Nature’s fury

The two referees of the team were at the Everest Hotel at the time. Roshini Karunaratne along with the other were on the Hotel’s rooftop restaurant when nature unleashed its fury on Nepal. The rooftop was mostly built of glass.

“The glass walls, smashed around us and the entire structure shook like a baby’s cradle. We went near the lift and it crashed. The fire door was jammed and she kicked the fire-door open to walk seven storyes down to the ground floor and into safety. “There was no power and I don’t know how we climbed down those stairs in the pitch dark.”

Violent shaking

Nirodh Warusavithana and Sahan Randeniya, two university students were among those returned on the first flight out of Kathmandu.

Nirodh is a medical student at the Kathmandu University while Sahan is a third-year development studies was waiting for his final results after completing a medical degree at the Tribhuvan University. Chethiya Wijeratne, was staying in Kathmandu on a month-long job assignment. My friend and I were staying in the same apartment building in Kathmandu. It was a nine storeyed service apartment. We were working for different companies. Chethiya had just returned at his apartment when suddenly everything started to shake. “Cracks started to appear on the wall around us. I was on the fifth floor, the right thing to do would have been to stay indoors but we did not know.”

Some of the foreigners in the building had stayed on till the first big tremor subsided and used fire exits to go out. But my friend and I met up and we dashed out, People were stuck in the lift, we tried to open it but due to the violent shaking we could not.

The roads were cracking, our building looked as if it was about to fall apart. Later when things settled down a bit the elevators were forced open and the people inside were rescued.

I took nothing when I rushed out, so at one point, about three hours later, my friend and I decided to go up, to collect our passports and some clothes. It was crazy, when I was inside there was another tremor and I really lost my senses. Fortunately nothing happened.

It is in such bad shape that it is unsafe even to go near the building now, they will have to bring it down.

Later, we settled on the ground. some helpful Nepalis, assisted us to find a hotel which said was earthquake proof.

But we did not want any more surprises so we slept out in the open. It was quite an experience. There were many aftershocks, people with me counted up to about 80.

There was no way to call my family, I left my phone when I rushed down. A Nepali guy later offered his phone to get in touch with my family and confirm that I was safe.

My family reminded me that I should get to the (Sri Lankan) Embassy but I was too scared to move. I had to go through the main part of town which had many affected buildings, that could fall apart any minute. I spend couple of nights where I was and made it to the embassy.

Kamal Kadirage, the father of one of the medical students, thanked the Ambassador, the staff and the Air Force for helping them to get then back without any harm. Visiting his daughter and the son in law who were both medical students, he had arrived in Kathmandu on Friday.

“I have travelled overseas a lot but this particular trip will be really memorable,” he said. He said he wanted to salute the two pilots, for their courageous effort and above all, for the smoothest landing he had ever experienced. The Ambassador said another 21 Sri Lankans were returned to Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Contrary assurance

by Husna Inayathullah

As the death, injured and displaced toll of the massive earthquake in Nepal continues to climb, the Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Nepal, W.M. Seneviratne has assured no Sri Lankans have been affected in the devasted areas.

At present 120 Sri Lankan students are studying at the Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, six at Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel and eight at Tribhuvan University, Kiritipur.

Assistant Director of Foreign Affairs who co-ordinates operation rooms at the Disaster Management for the earthquake, U. Ahamed Razee said, “The road journey is six hours from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Students at the Manipal University had not been affected by the earthquake, those in the Kathmandu and Tribhuvan Universities have been affected but bore no physical injuries.

The Dean of the University of Manipal, Brig. Dr. B.M. Nagpal has cautioned the students not to panic but accustom themselves to face disasters. The university is functioning and the lectures are conducted as usual.”

He said the Dean of the University of Manipal had a meeting with the students to discuss the issue and has pursuaded the students to stay back to complete the syllabus and sit for the final examination.

President of the Manipal University Parents Association, Dr. Pradeep de Silva said, “The students at the Manipal University are not affected by the catastrophe. The Dean of the University does not want the media to speak to their students on this issue. They are attending lectures as usual” he said.

“Most of the newspapers and television channels give false information that our students are affected and that they are returning to Sri Lanka.

It is a pity that they spread false news. Some students come back to Sri Lanka due to personal reasons and not due to the quake. Those who returned to Sri Lanka before the quake are unable to go back to Nepal”, he said.

The story that the students were inconvenienced due to the tremors and spent two nights at the sports ground opposite the university is a myth.

He said the group of 25 students of the under 14 women’s football team returned to Sri Lanka on April 28, by the Sri Lanka Air Force C130 aircraft. None of the Sri Lankan students of the Manipal Medical College, returned.

According to the Ministry of Higher Education no scholarships are awarded to Sri Lankan students to Universities in Nepal at present. Most of the Sri Lankan students studying in Nepal are private students.