Eyewitness accounts Go back »

2008-06-19 | Southwest China

It took me 10 seconds to realise there was an earthquake and then 10 more seconds to realise I should get outside. Then I shouted for the 80 people in the factory to get out and everyone moved to the open ground. From there we watched the building shaking. I could see my car, which is a quite big SUV jumping off the ground. It was incredible. But we were all on the open ground so we were safe – unless the ground opened up! Once it stopped we shut down the gas and other things then I sent people into the factory in twos to collect their stuff. Then we closed the factory and went home. The factory is in Shuangliu, near the airport, so we feel the aftershocks more strongly than in Chengdu. Pascal Hermandesse, Chair of Chengdu EUCCC and CEO of Atexis (Chengdu) Electronic    

At the time of the earthquake I was sitting in my office looking at my companies sales forecasts and projecting the impact the rise in demand will have on our production. Then, at 2.28pm May 12, 2008, my desk started shaking. Initially thinking there was a large truck going past I stayed put. Then, realizing it must be worse, must be an earthquake, I wasn't sure what to do. Should I dive under the desk, or Run!? I looked in to the office and realized everyone else had gone! So that was it; go for the stairs and get out as quickly as possible. I was lucky to only be on the third floor so it was maybe two minutes by the time I got out and was standing looking up at the building from the center of the road with the tarmac still moving under my feet. Finally the shaking stopped but I realized my knees were now wobbling all on their own! It was a terrifying experience. But I and the more than 5 million people living and working in the city of Chengdu were the lucky ones. It is those less fortunate in neighboring cities that have lost their lives or their families and their businesses that we really need to think about in the tough times that lie ahead of us here in southwest China. Paul Sives, Chengdu EUCCC Board Member and General Manager of Proton Products (Chengdu)

I was in Chengdu in my office on the 31st floor, across the river from the Shangri-La hotel near Jiu Yuan Qiao. The building started to shake like crazy. Because the building is so high it has to go with the shockwaves so it was worse than if we had been on the ground. We had to hold on. Books fell off the shelf, the water machine tipped over and screens fell down. I shouted to my colleagues, "Let's run," so all the employees ran down the stairs. You feel so small. Because we were on the 31st floor, if the building goes down that's the end. In the beginning most people jumped under tables, so the stairs weren't very busy. When we got towards the bottom more people were getting out, but we were pretty fast. The first thing I did after we got out was to look for the people you know and check in with family. I went back into the office later that evening to check for damage. The floor was wet and there were books all over the floor but there was no damage. You cannot imagine how is must have been [for those near the epicenter]. I read all these sad stories about teachers who got their children out but were killed themselves. It's too big to understand what really went on. Most of the EUCCC members have donated to the relief cause. But what we have to focus on is the next few months. When the first wave of donations stop, that's when [the earthquake survivors] will really need help the most. Ewout Evan Loon, Chengdu EUCCC Board Member and Commercial Director of IJO Technologies.