Durban teacher recounts harrowing escape from Myanmar earthquake
Devika Hunsraj shares her harrowing experience as a survivor of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, detailing her escape from the rubble and the emotional aftermath of the tragedy.
Sky Villa Condominium apartment building in Mandalay after the earthquake
Image: Supplied
Devika Hunsraj, a survivor of Myanmar's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, still cannot believe she made it out of the rubble that was once her apartment building.
The earthquake, which flattened skyscrappers from Myanmar to Thailand, has left thousands of people dead, injured and missing. The epicenter was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country's second-largest city.
Hunsraj, 51, of Broadlands in Durban, who is still healing from her injuries, said she was happy to be home.
She completed a year in April teaching English, science and maths at Higher Champs International School (HCIS) in Mandalay.
Devika Hunsraj, a survivor of Myanmar's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, still cannot believe she made it out of the rubble that was once her apartment building.
Image: Supplied
On the day of the earthquake, March 28, Hunsraj had just returned from school after the last day of the academic year, to her Sky Villa Condominium apartment building in Mandalay.
"I put my bag down and was getting ready to eat my lunch. The building first shook slightly and then violently rocked from side to side and then collapsed. A few minutes later there was another earthquake which pushed the building further down.
"I was covered with sand and debris all around me. I screamed for help and could hear other people also screaming, but could not see anyone. The stove with a gas canister and a cupboard was near me. I was initially scared to move anything for fear that the canister might explode.
"I then felt a board in front of me which I pushed and after an hour of trying to push I could see light and found myself on the top section of the building. There was a monk trying to rescue people and he came to me," said Hunsraj.
Devika Hunsraj, who had previously taught in Iraq and China, described Mandalay as a lovely city.
Image: Supplied
Hunsraj, who lived on the eighth floor, said she lost everything.
"We were treated for our injuries and taken to our school where we stayed in the hostel. It was the most traumatic and petrifying three weeks thereafter because of the aftershocks," she said.
She said when she returned to the site of her apartment building, she was heartbroken to see it had been reduced to piles of rubble as the floors caved in with the upper floors perched on the crushed remains of the lower levels.
"The entire building, which housed all foreign teachers, came crashing down. Four of the nine teachers from my school made it out alive. Very few people from my building were rescued.
"Rescue efforts are still continuing. Many people that I know have still not been found. We went everyday to the site to see if others were rescued or who was rescued. We would scream out names of those that we knew that had still not been found. It was heartbreaking," said Hunsraj.
She said she was just thankful and happy to be home.
"I have deep scars and I am still healing, but grateful to be alive and with my family."
Hunsraj, who had previously taught in Iraq and China, described Mandalay as a lovely city.
"Myanmar is a beautiful country. The people are nice and the children are so respectful and are a pleasure to teach.
"I need to recuperate and then decide if I am going to go back there to teach. It will be traumatic going back especially after losing so many teachers who were my friends," said Hunsraj.