Lucky to be alive: Loyola students

When 52 students of the Jamshedpur-based Loyola School left for the Andamans on Christmas eve, little did they realise their dream holiday w...

When 52 students of the Jamshedpur-based Loyola School left for the Andamans on Christmas eve, little did they realise their dream holiday would soon turn into a nightmare.

‘‘We counted ourselves lucky to have gone there. Today, we think we are lucky because we survived the disaster. This is for the first time since the morning of December 26 that we are laughing,’’ said Anuradha Agarwal, a student, at Howrah station.

The 61-member team, of which 51 were students, reached Kolkata by an Indian Airlines flight at 3.15 pm and left for Jamshedpur by train at 5.30 pm.

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‘‘We were so scared that we stayed awake for the last two days,’’ said Anuradha, the trauma writ large on her face.

Most of the students were sleeping when disaster struck that night. ‘‘All on a sudden, we woke up to see the entire hotel shaking violently. We rushed out in the open, leaving all our belongings behind,’’ said Anesha Swastik, another student.

For a whole day and night, on December 26, the students stayed out in a field near the hotel, surviving on water, biscuits and bread. ‘‘Let alone having a wash, we even brushed our teeth with water bought from shops. We saw buildings crack, cars washed away, dead bodies floating. We could not even talk to our parents,’’ said Jash Karan.

Finally, they moved to the airport and were provided food by the airport authorities. ‘‘Sonia Gandhi came to us and assured all help. We are thankful to Tata Steel for making our return journey possible,’’ said Gaurav Choudhury, a student.