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| CELEBRANT NEWS DETAIL |
Christchurch Bride Survives Quake
admin
25 02 2011
A woman who was pulled from the rubble of the devastated Pyne Gould Corporation building married her fiancé today after she miraculously survived the Christchurch earthquake.
Emma Howard recounted today how she was trapped "in a foetal position" for a terrifying 6˝ hours after she was thrown from her chair when the 6.3 magnitude quake struck at lunchtime on Tuesday.
The accountant said her decision not to crouch under her desk saved her life as a section of the concrete floor from above crashed down on to her work station.
"I'm so lucky I didn't get under my desk," she told Radio New Zealand today.
"My desk was crushed by the corner of the concrete floor roof above me that came down."
Ms Howard said she thought she was going to die and went through "crying fits" during her ordeal.
She told how she and her six co-workers talked to each other and used the lights on their mobile phones to see in the darkness.
"There were so many things in between us, but we could see each other and we heard each other perfectly," she said.
Trapped in the rubble, Ms Howard texted her fiancé, fellow accountant Chris Greenslade, who raced to the building from his nearby workplace.
"He just ran to me, expecting to find me standing on the street, ready to take me home," she said.
Mr Greenslade dug among the remains, pulling out other people as he searched for his bride-to-be.
He was photographed carrying an injured woman to safety in one of the first images that emerged of rescue efforts after the quake.
The couple, who planned their wedding months ago, were married in the Christ the King Catholic Church in Burnside this afternoon.
When asked how she was feeling as she prepared to wed, she told waiting media she was tired.
"The church is still in perfect condition and we have a marquee out here on dad's front lawn for the reception," she said.
"I'm fortunate that everybody we invited originally will be there."
Her anxious-looking father knelt down to fan out his daughter's train and said: "It's what dads do I guess."
AAP / Stuff.co.nz |
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| David Taylor |
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David Taylor is a contributor
and is based in East Ryde |
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