KOCHI: A 58-member team tourist from Kochi had miraculous escape from the devastating earthquake as the team left the place one hour before the disaster stuck the place.
‘We were really fortunate as we left the place stuck by the quake hit area one before the tragedy stuck”, says Suvaran from Fort Kochi who led the team. We came to know later that the national museum and Janaki Temple at Janakpur visited by us collapsed in the earth quake”, he said.
A portion of the hotel we stayed at Pokhra was also collapsed, said Ashokkumar of Madthaiparambil from Vaduthala, another member of the team.
The 58-member team from Kochi reached Nepal on April 17 and they have visited Kathmandu and Pokhra and was on their way back when the earthquake occurred.
The earthquake stuck around 11.45 am on Saturday and by that time we have left a place called Sunauli, said a member of the team.
“We came to know about the quake when relatives and friends from Kochi called us. God has saved us. But we regret that the beautiful places we have visited will no remain so” says GP Prabhu, a native of Mattancherry.
We reached Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday night and that place was also gripped in the fear of quake.
“Around 1 in the night the hotel staff asked us to come out of the room and stay outside and we stood in the open for nearly one hour, said the team members. The group took the Gorakhpur-Thiruvananthapuaram Express to Kerala on Sunday morning and reached Kochi on Tuesday.
