The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Family camp by road after Kos earthquake
AFTERSHOCKS: Too scared to go back inside after 6.7-magnitude quake shook hotel
A terrified Perthshire couple grabbed their children and ran as their hotel shook with the force of a large earthquake early yesterday.
Nicola and Stewart Liddell, originally from Fife, initially feared they were under attack during the “horrendous” experience on the Greek isle of Kos.
They and youngsters Dana, 13, and Jack, 12, were there to celebrate Stewart’s 50th birthday but ended up camped out at the side of the road too scared to re-enter their damaged hotel.
The 6.7-magnitude quake in the Aegean Sea left two dead and 115 injured, including tourists – 12 of them seriously. Shocked Nicola said it had felt like a huge freight train was roaring through their room.
A terrified Scottish family caught up in the Greek earthquake said they went through the most horrendous experience of their lives.
A powerful earthquake sent a building crashing down on tourists at a bar on the Greek holiday island of Kos, killing two people and injuring 200.
Nicola and Stewart Liddell feared they were under attack when their hotel began shaking in the dead of night and glasses and lamps smashed to the floor.
The Perthshire couple, originally from Fife, could barely stand as they grabbed their two children and fled the building along with dozens of other screaming holidaymakers.
The pair, who live near Coupar Angus, had been celebrating Stewart’s 50th birthday on Kos with daughter Dana, 13, and 12-year-old son Jack.
They were joined by Stewart’s brother Gordon and wife Michelle in the resort of Psalidi, which overlooks the Turkish coast.
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck at around 1.30am as the family slept, just hours after they spent a “wonderful” afternoon toasting Stewart on board a privately chartered boat.
The Liddells were shocked unhurt.
Nicola, 44, who was brought up in Kirkcaldy, where her dad Jack Pillans owned a bakery, said: “The whole room shook like a huge freight train was roaring through it.
“It was the most horrendous thing we have ever experienced.”
Adding that all power was lost, she added: “People were panicked, running and screaming from their rooms.”
A number of aftershocks have left the group too frightened to reenter the hotel and as they desperately tried in vain to secure flights home, they set up camp by the roadside, using sun loungers and lilos as makeshift beds.
“We slept out by the main entrance away from all the buildings – although no one has actually slept,” said Nicola.
“We have moved beds to the shade as it’s about 32 degrees but will move back to the roadside for the evening.
“We have blankets and will camp out together again.”
The family is due to fly home late tomorrow night but are conscious they may be delayed after the airport had to be closed for several hours yesterday.
Despite their ordeal, they have praised staff at their hotel, who they said went but above and beyond the call of duty to ensure guests’ safety. “They are amazing,” said Nicola. “Despite hearing reports about their families being injured, they have all pitched up and are providing drinks and snacks whilst constantly clearing up and trying to put things back together.”
Rescue officials said two men from Turkey and Sweden died in the collapse at the White Corner Club when the quake struck at about 1.30am.
Hundreds of revellers were in or near the popular bar in the old town of Kos when the building partially collapsed.
At least five other people were seriously injured on Kos as tourists and local residents scrambled out of buildings, some even leaping from balconies.
Five of the injured were taken by helicopter to hospital on the island of Crete, officials said.
Tens of thousands of tourists spent the night outdoors on Kos, many joining the Liddells by sleeping on sunbeds along beaches as a quake-related sea swell subsided.
The tremor damaged churches, an old mosque, and the port’s 14th Century castle, along with old buildings in the town.
In nearby Turkey, the quake caused cracks on walls of some buildings in the resort of Bodrum, flooded the lower floors of seafront hotels and restaurants and sent moored boats crashing towards the shore.
Turkish authorities said 70 people were treated in hospitals in Bodrum for minor injuries but damage was light.
Several Greek government ministers, as well as rescuers with sniffer dogs and structural engineers, travelled to Kos overnight to coordinate the rescue effort.
Authorities said there were no reported injuries of refugees and migrants at camps on the island.
The whole room shook like a huge freight train was roaring through it