A group of 13 Taiwanese tourists traveling in Nepal when the country was pummeled by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Saturday returned to Taiwan yesterday, characterizing the experience as feeling like “it was the end of the world.”
“We just did not know what to do,” a woman in the group was quoted by Taiwan’s CNA as saying. “The place first shook up and down and from side to side, and we saw things falling from the sky. We did not know where to hide, because we were new there. We just saw the locals screaming and running. We briefly took shelter at a shop and quickly ran outdoors afterward to find somewhere safe.”
Her travel companion said that the earth appeared to be vibrating when the major earthquake struck.
“We were in the old town area and the buildings were old. Different items fell to the ground, as if they were thrown out by people. I just remembered seeing the local people run for their lives. I also fell to the ground. Fortunately, [my friend] lifted me up and we went to hide in a store,” she said.
The two women said that their flight, which was scheduled to take off on Saturday night, left Nepal on time without any delay. They then boarded a connecting flight in Guangzhou before returning to Taiwan yesterday afternoon.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that of the 177 Taiwanese in Nepal, as of press time last night, 149 had contacted the ministry and reported they are safe. It said that it did not yet know the whereabouts of the other 28.
According to the Tourism Bureau, 69 Taiwanese tourists are waiting to return from Nepal as part of five different Taiwanese tour agencies and organizations’ groups.
Ten tourists in a group arranged by Dongling Tours were scheduled to return to Taiwan early yesterday morning, but the bureau said that they were still at an airport in Nepal, awaiting confirmation of their flight.
The ministry has raised the travel alert for Nepal to red, meaning that it is inappropriate to visit the country now, whether for business or pleasure.
The ministry said that the earthquake was the severest to hit the South Asian country since 1934. Many buildings around the epicenter or near the capital collapsed or were severely damaged, the ministry said.
As the earthquake disrupted transport systems and telecommunication services in Nepal, the Tourism Bureau has asked Taiwanese travel agencies to suspend arranging tours to the country.
If any tourist wants to cancel a trip, travel agencies must handle the tour cancelation based on the standardized tourism contract, the bureau said.
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