Friday 09 January 2009, San José, Costa
Rica
13 Dead, Many More
Missing In Afternoon 6.2
Earthquake
40 Seconds of
Terror
Tourism Minister Assures
Safety of Visitors
Trapped In Earthquake
Zone
Panic in San José
San Jose Airport
Open
Gallery of Fotos
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40 Seconds of Terror
At 1:21pm Costa Rican
time the earth shook and
those near Vara Blanca,
Fraijanes and La
Cinchona de Sarapiquí
lived through a terror
that lasted 40 seconds,
but seemed an eternity.
A dozen or more where
not so lucky, perishing
in the landslides and
mud that swallowed
entire sections of roads
through the area.
The epicentre was
located some 10 Km east
of the Volcán Poás,
according to the
OVSICORI, the national
seismic observatory, in
the province of
Alajuela.
Two little girls,
Marisela Argüello and
Tatiana Bolívar, agedn
11 and 7, were swallowed
up by the mudslides as
they walked along the
main road in the
affected area. Another
young victim, Ana María
Rodríguez, only 12 years
of age, was buried alive
in her house, a distance
of only 800 metres from
where Marisela and
Tatiana met their fate.
The road through Vara
Blanca, an heavily
travelled tourist area,
is completely destroyed.
Some 200 tourists
visiting La Paz water
falls near the Peace
Lodge were trapped as
the roads on both sides
of the natural
waterfalls caved in by
the force the tremor.
Comisión Nacional de
Emergencias (CNE)
reports 42 communities
affected and reporting
from light to heavy
damage to structures and
roads. Poás, Los
Cartagos, Carrizal,
Dulce Nombre de
Fraijanes and Santa
Bárbara are some the
areas affected the most.
In La cinchona a bus
fell into the cave in.
Fortunately all of the
passengers can live to
tell their story, albeit
banged up some.
The clean up of the area
and recovery of the
bodies began shortly
after the quake.
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