Saved by God’s angels
Published: August 10, 2007
South Africa — Ria Quna, trapped in the hotel as an inferno raged below, panicked as she grabbed her baby and ran up to the rooftop.
She couldn’t breathe. She feared the worst. Then she collapsed.
But out of the darkness, a piercing searchlight zoomed ahead of the whir of a helicopter’s blades, scanning the rooftop for those who needed help.
Quna’s saviours had arrived.
Thirty-one storeys below on Monday night, hordes of spectators cheered.
Today the mom believes she and her seven-month-old baby Candy owe their lives to “God’s angels”.
The 20-year-old mother was one of 92 people plucked by helicopters from the roof top of the burning Seaboard Hotel in Durban on Monday night.
The hotel, one of Durban’s landmark beachfront buildings, is on the corner of West Street and Mahatma Gandhi (Point) Road.
“I am just so thankful that so many people helped us in my hour of need. I thank God that he sent his angels to save us,” said Quna from her bed at Addington hospital.
Recalling the events leading up to her breath-taking rescue, she said: “It was so frightening. I was in my flat on the 16th floor. I was taking care of my baby and it was just after 7pm. All of a sudden we heard screaming. I thought there was a fight.
“I looked through the window and saw a lot of smoke. I then ran and opened my door and saw everyone running down the corridor,” she said.
That’s when Quna knew something was terribly wrong.
She went back into the bedroom, grabbed her baby and ran.
“I was so scared for my baby and me. We ran up the stairs because someone said the fire was below us. When we got to the rooftop, I could not breathe. I’m not sure what happened after that. I think I collapsed,” she said.
“Someone took my baby from my hands and helped to take care of her. The paramedics put me into a helicopter and we were flown to the bottom.”
She said at this point she was more concerned about her baby.
“I could hear her crying and paramedics were assisting her. They also placed an oxygen mask around my face.
“They said they were treating me for smoke inhalation.”
At the heart of last night’s epic rescue effort were the dedicated pilots and crew of the SAPS Airwing, the SA Air Force’s 15 Squadron and a National Port Authority pilot helicopter, who braved some of the most difficult and dangerous flying conditions to rescue the trapped people.
Although they are trained to fly at night, 40km/h winds, thick smoke and the danger of low-level urban flying made the rescue mission both technically and emotionally challenging.
Veteran pilot Rene Coulon of the SAPS Airwing was the first to venture to the top of the building.
Unable to land on the roof for fear of its collapsing, Coulon was forced to hover centimetres above a brick wall as his colleague, “Wessie” van der Westhuizen, pulled terrified people into the rear cabin.
He was the first to admit it was one of the most difficult flying experiences of his life.
But he was not alone. The massive Oryx and a BK117 helicopter of the legendary 15 Squadron - famed for their Mozambique flood rescues - struggled to maintain position in the gusting wind and thick smoke.
“One of the most difficult things was the confined space,” Coulon said. “You couldn’t land on the roof, so we had to inch in and put down near the brick wall. Then suddenly a gust of wind would pick the heli up and you would have to fight it down again.”
Asked what they would say if someone labelled them heroes, a modest Coulon said it was “just nice to help” and praised the firefighters who braved the flames.
Another hotel resident, Roma Gary, said he had been about to take a bath when he heard people screaming.
“We live on the 17th floor and my room-mate and I managed to take a lift and get out before the fire got worse,” he said.
Some were treated at the scene while many others, such as Quna and Candy, were taken to hospitals and treated for smoke inhalation.
None of the hotel residents was seriously injured.
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