Lothians couple rode out Santiago quake on 35th floor

A TERRIFIED couple have told how they feared their "numbers were up" as they were trapped 35 floors up one of Chile's tallest building when the devastating earthquake struck.

John and Beth Scott from Gifford, East Lothian, described clinging on to each other on the floor as their hotel room swayed back and forth and objects flew across the room.

They said the quake shook the skyscraper in the country's capital, Santiago, so badly that they feared it would collapse.

The disaster is so far known to have killed at least 723 people and left thousands more in need of food, water and shelter.

Mr Scott, 58, said: "As the room began to move we rolled ourselves on to the floor and held on to each other while the room shook and swayed back and forth. The noise was horrible.

"The building was swaying so much we really thought our numbers were up."

Mrs Scott, 53, added that the two-minute quake, which measured 8.8-magnitude, had been "utterly terrifying and seemed to last forever".

The couple have lived in Santiago since 1999, but left last year for a five-month sabbatical back home in Gifford.

They returned to South America just a few weeks ago, and were staying on the 35th floor of the Marriot Hotel while they looked for a new home.

When the quake hit at around 3:30am local time on Saturday, they were asleep in bed, and were woken by the first tremors.

The building swayed so violently that the bed the couple had been in just moments before slid across the room.

The couple held on to each other while the swaying continued, and they were left badly shaken as the quake threw objects around the room.

Once the movement stopped they ran out of the room, stopping only to grab shoes and their mobile phones. They made their way down 35 flights of stairs.

"We saw lots of other people making their way down, families with small children and a few dogs, everyone, including the pets, seemed to remain surprisingly calm," said Mr Scott, the director of construction for a renewable energy company in Chile.

The couple's two daughters – students Fiona Scott, 23, and Heather Scott, 20 – were also in Santiago when the quake struck.

They were staying in an apartment, and were woken up by the room shaking.

Fiona said: "Because of the weak tremors often felt in Chile I was calm at first, but as the quake began to build into something far different to what we had ever felt before, I began to panic.

"We could hear the sound of glass shattering, car alarms sounding and screaming, but all we could think was that our parents were on the 35th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Santiago.

"I remember reassuring my sister, telling her they would be fine, that the building was strong – but I don't think I was sure of anything at that point."

The family were reunited a few hours after the quake. They immediately started trying to contact relatives in Scotland to let them know they were safe.

They eventually got a text message through, and Fiona said her grandparents Sandy, 85, and Beth Boggon, 83, had been frantically awaiting news in Gifford.

Aftershocks have continued to be felt, and people in the most-affected areas of Chile are still desperate for basic necessities.

Mr and Mrs Scott were last night back in their hotel room 35 floors above the capital, and said it was still "quite frightening".

Pair fled to higher ground to avoid tsunami

A SCOTTISH couple who survived the devastating earthquake in Chile had to flee to higher ground to escape the threat of a tsunami.

David Sandercock, 24, from Edinburgh, and his girlfriend Kirsty Duff, also 24, from Stonehaven finally made contact with their families and friends on Monday night, three days after they were reported missing after the massive quake, which reached 8.8 on the Richter scale.

More than 700 people were killed with more reported missing.

The couple, both graduates of Stirling University, had been on a surfing holiday in the coastal resort of Pichilemu.

Due to communication problems the couple were only able to make contact after taking a bus to Santiago.

Miss Duff's sister Fay said: "When I spoke to Kirsty she said a wave came and they were all told to run up a hill. I'm not sure what they did for three days after that. She said they had to borrow money."

Despite their ordeal, it was reported that the couple have no plans to immediately return home.

The couple have been travelling in South America for several months.

Mr Sandercock's family in Edinburgh have reportedly now left for a holiday.