Stranded in Gander
The following are emails received from Deirdre McGarrigle, from Castlebar, who was heading back to college in Manhattan on 11th September when her flight was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, following the attack on the World Trade Centre. We also have an account from Peter Jordan in Florida on his reactions to the attacks.
12 Sep 09:16
I'm in Canada. David's waiting in line for the phone
right now to try to phone to let you know where we are
but I just thought I'd try this to let you know in
case you get this first. We sat on the ground for
about 15 hours or more and then they took us off the
plane and we are in a school now. I can't spend long
on this because there are other people waiting. About
10,000 people were directed to the airport we landed in
(Gander, Newfoundland). If you called Continental you
might know this already.
Will ring when I can
12 September 14:26
Everyone else will have to forgive me for not writing
to them all this time because I don't remember all the
email addresses. Can't get on to hotmail.
We were the first plane to arrive in Gander yesterday.
But we sat in the plane for 15 hours on the run way
before we were able to get off. They let all planes
that weren't American airlines off first because of
the security scare and they wanted to search all of
our bags. We took just our carry on stuff off.
Unfortunately all of the food was in the other bags
except for the crisps and we were low on water so we
thought it would be better not to eat it even though
we starving during the 15 hours. Eventually after
clearing customs we were bused in school buses to a
school in a local town. There are about 800 people
here in the school. At the airport they gave us some
food to take on the bus with us. Here we have a mat in
the gym and we all took the blankets and pillows from
the plane with us. We've heard that between 30 and 50
planes landed in this small airport. Ours was the
smallest a 757 with about 200 people on it! The local
people are here organising the whole thing and
constantly cooking in the school kitchen. So we are
warm and fed and have tv etc. It sounds like all
bridges to Manhattan are shut so even if the borders
open today and we get flown back to Newark we have no
place to go for the moment so hopefully we'll just be
kept here for another while! Anyway, there are still
other people waiting for computers so I'd better go.
13 September 2001 01:02
Hi again
Well, we are still in Canada so there's no
need to worry. By the
time we get back I'm sure the bridges will be open. It
sounds like there might be a chance of getting out of
here tomorrow I hope. In the meantime the people here
are being great and we are being really well looked
after. The town has 1000 people in it and I reckon
everyone of them has been cooking food at home and
bringing it here to the school or bringing blankets
and pillows and soap etc to make us more comfortable.
It's amazing how wonderful they have been. A band even
came and set up outside to entertain the masses!! We
got an email from Phil - he was in Manhattan and the
time of the attack and got stuck there but he just got
home so it sounds like we will actually be able to get
from New Jersey to Manhattan in the end. All David's
other friends in Manhattan are ok too. Phil had spoken
to all of them. It's
all very surreal from our vantage point here in
Lakewood Academy, Glenwood, Newfoundland, Canada!
I'll email again tomorrow if I can and let you know
what's happening and where I am.
13 September 2001 23:33
Looks like we are going to be out of here in an hour
or so. The first buses are expected here shortly for a
Northwestern airlines flight and then we are next.
They are saying that our flight will leave at 3.30 am
tonight. It's 8pm now. So hopefully we'll be back in
New York tomorrow morning. Phil said that he would
come collect us. It sounds like we will be able to get
into Manhattan by the more northern bridges.
Someone just came in and said that they found a bomb
in LaGaurdia and that all the airports are closed
again. Hopefully it's just a scare. I don't know where
the info came from. I'll email or ring as soon as I
can.
14 September 2001 02:44
Well looks like we will be leaving Newfoundland soon.
We are expecting the buses to collect us in order to
take us to the airport at 11.30 pm. It's 11 now. It
sounds like we will be taking off at 6am but hopefully
it'll be sooner. The latest thing is that they are not
going to tell us where we are flying to. We won't know
the destination until after we take off. I still think
that they're going to fly us to Newark but who knows.
I hear the three NY airports are still closed. It's
hard to tell what's real and what's not. I think that
they arrested three or four suspicious people in JFK.
The thing about the bomb seems just to have been a
rumour. So all I know for sure is that I'll be leaving
here in about a half an hour, I'll be flying somewhere
at some stage in the next seven or eight hours. I'll
let you know when I get there.
A perspective from the US...
12 September 2001 00:52:28:
In my almost 4 years here in the US I have never experienced a day like it even with a hurricane bearing down on Florida. To say the entire country is in shock is an understatement. Disbelief or lack of registration of what has actually happened and the momentous, vast tragedy of it is probably the closest I could come to describing what it's like. I scanned across the radio dial a couple of times all day and the TV - I have never seen one story take up every bit of air time simultaneously. Shopping malls are closed, cinemas are closed, theme parks are closed. Partly out of security measures and fear but partly out of the fact that people don't feel like enjoying themselves this evening and feel guilty about laughing or being too cheerful in public and partly out of respect for the dead who must be expected to run into the tens of thousands. Florida is under a state of emergency. Urgent Red Cross blood appeals are being issued nationwide. Unfortunately they won't accept mine because of BSE since I've lived in the UK but up to now I've always been afraid to give blood but would have done so this evening if I could. The International land lines out of the country as well as into it all day have been chaotic with up to ten minutes effort per call required. I was due to leave here next week via Toronto in Canada - I don't know what implications this will have for that although one of America's great but also quite chilling traits has been its ability to return to normality in the face of tragedy and adversity - It is amazing to look up into the sky today or tonight and see not a single vapor trail or airplane light. God bless and help those who've been personally involved in this - I've already talked to people today who have known and dealt with people in the World Trade Center and are now feared quite likely dead. Undoubtedly amongst the ruins of Manhattan lie many Irish along with all the other nationalities. It is a sad sad day for the whole world. The only hope is that out of it might emerge something new and good....
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