Mr William Teo Jui Wah (left), 65, returned to Singapore from Padang.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
Oct 3, 2009
Lucky day trip for 11
HAD they not gone on a day trip out of Padang, a group of 11 Singaporean photographers would have found themselves right in the middle of the devastating earthquake that struck the Indonesian coastal city on Wednesday evening.
Tiger Airways 'let us down'
THEY were all complete strangers, united by a common desperation - to get out of quake-devastated Padang as soon as they could.
About 40 tourists, including Singapore-based businessman Malcolm Davies, literally had to empty their pockets to get a ticket home.
It was only when they returned to the city the next morning that they realised how lucky
they had been.
The scene was 'devastating', said Mr William Teo Jui Wah, one of the Singaporeans, who returned on an Air Asia flight on Friday afternoon.
'Can you imagine? One day before, we saw the buildings intact, and the next day they were all crumpled,' said the 65-year-old.
The group of photographers were on a week-long photography expedition called 'Crossing Bridges' with 40 other photography enthusiasts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The group had set out on Wednesday morning from their inner city hotel to take photos of the scenery 90km from Padang.
That evening, as they were heading for dinner the earthquake struck.
With a bridge collapsed, the group had to spend the night at the home of one of the Indonesian photographers.
The single-storey terrace house was a tight squeeze, and they slept in whatever space they could find said Mr Ng Kwok Yong, 47, another member of the team.
The next morning, after collecting their belongings from their partially collapsed hotel, the Singaporeans headed straight for the airport.
CAROLYN QUEK & KIMBERLY SPYKERMAN
October 2 2009
Singaporeans in Padang safe
All Singaporeans in Padang, West Sumatra, when the massive earthquake struck on Wednesday, have been accounted for and are safe, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
'Some are already back in Singapore while others will be returning over the next few days,' said an MFA spokesman in response to media queries.
But 55-year-old Singaporean businessman John Lee remains in hospital in Padang.
Mr Lee was pulled out alive on Thursday from the rubble of a five-storey hotel that came crashing down, trapping him for 30 hours.
Said the MFA spokesman: 'We have been in touch with the Singaporeans and the family members. Our Embassy officials are on the ground and will be providing assistance to Mr Lee and the remaining Singaporeans.'
Rescuers dug feverishly on Friday through the rubble of toppled buildings in Padang, but few victims were being found alive two days after the tremor.
The United Nations said more than 1,000 had been killed in and around the city of 900,000, which sits atop one of the world's most active seismic fault lines along the 'Ring of Fire'.
Aid to thousands of displaced survivors started trickling in, but rescue operations have been hampered by power blackouts and a lack of heavy equipment to shift fallen masonry.
Among the 11 Singaporeans are people unk Dicko knows very well personally.
William Teo ( above ST photo ) is presently the Chairman of Senior Connect Program Committee of Serangoon Gardens. The SCP helps seniors and retirees to be more socially active through its various activities and programmes.
Unk Dicko is the adviser to this SCP for Sg Gardens.
Thankfully, William and the others escaped injury or an even worse fate. Not so lucky are the thousands of others who are still missing from entire villages, schools, hotels and other collapsed buildings in the Padang earthquake.
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