TERROR AFTER EARTHQUAKE!

By David Thompson

A BALLYMONEY man has spoken of his fears for his family, in the aftermath of the Chile earthquake.

Eddie Ray’s son Jonathan, a missionary, lives in Monta Verde, Santiago with his wife and children.

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Their house was seriously damaged in the quake, and they were lucky to escape with only minor injuries.

Eddie first heard about the earthquake on the news, and tried immediately to contact his family.

But communications were so badly damaged they couldn’t get through. It wasn’t until Monday morning, two days later, that Eddie heard from his son.

“We received an email on the Monday morning from Jonathan, letting us know that they were OK. For the previous couple of days my wife and I had been very anxious, but we were confident that they would be safe,” Eddie said.

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In the email his son Jonathan described the ordeal they had gone through.

“In our house everything inside fell, the force of the quake was so strong and the noise was incredible.”

His son, Timothy Pablo, aged five, was only saved from injury by the quick actions of his father.

“A set of drawers almost fell on Timothy and I tried to protect him, but in doing so I hurt my ribs” he said.

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The family feared for their lives when the tremor, measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, struck in the early hours.

“When it happened we seriously thought that the Lord was taking us home and we would not see you again until in Heaven” Jonathan told his father.

He compared the earthquake to the Troubles back home.

“I remember when I witnessed a van bomb go off in Banbridge and that was bad, but this was by far the worst experience.”

All the family managed to get out to safety, and have spent subsequent nights on the streets.

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People have congregated in the square, using their cars for shelter. Since the initial earthquake, there have been over 100 aftershocks, so it has not been safe for the family to return to their home.

The trouble facing the Rea family has been complicated by the crime wave sweeping the area. The house they lived in was part of a gated community, and the walls that were there to stop them being targeted, have been damaged. “A number of people in the community had to form a vigilante group to protect the area from gangs, so that was a concern. I was worried that they were all out in the cold at night time” Eddie said.

Jonathan lives in Chile with his wife Carolina and their two children Noemi who is 13 and Timothy Pablo, 5. He has been there for five years as a missionary with the Gospel Mission of South America. He previously lived in Cullybackey and has close ties to Cunningham Memorial Baptist Church there.

Along with others in Santiago, they have been gathering water and food stuffs to send to those in the worst affected area Concepcion. They have appealed for support form people back in Northern Ireland. “Please continue to pray for us as people are looting houses and as we expect more aftershocks. Give our love to everyone.”

Eddie is relieved that his family is safe, and looking forward to them returning on holiday next year.

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