Relax - S'poreans stranded in Peru

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S'poreans stranded in Peru

By Desmond Ng, The New Paper | Mon, Feb 1 2010

They had to help out in evacuation to ensure the people who really need to get out gets out first.

Keywords

machu piccu

[Above: Singapore siblings Seow Yi Qi, 27 and Seow Yi Xin, 23, who were stranded at Machu Picchu in Peru, were airlifted to safety after five days.]

WE’RE in no immediate danger. And we have enough food – until tomorrow.

But the message, sent via e-mail, gave little comfort to the Singapore siblings’ father.

Mr Seow Kang Seng’s son and daughter – Yi Qi and Yi Xin – are still stuck in Peru waiting to be airlifted to safety following a landslide which cut off access to the popular tourist site of Machu Picchu on Tuesday.

Ten people were killed in the mudslide and more than a thousand people are still stranded there.

Mr Seow, 57, an executive with the Energy Market Authority, said he received an e-mail from his 27-year-old son yesterday morning saying that he and his sister are safe and that they are likely to remain stuck there till tomorrow.

Said Mr Seow: “In his e-mail, he (Yi Qi) also apologised for getting his sister to go up the mountain with him. I am not angry, I just want them to be safe.”

Yi Qi is an A*Star scholar who is doing his PhD in gene therapy at Oxford University. YiXin, 23, begins her PhD in food science and technology at the National University of Singapore in August.

In the e-mail, Yi Qi said he’s helping to coordinate the evacuation efforts.

He said that there isn’t enough help for the evacuation, so they had to take over the operation to ensure the people who really need to get out gets out first.

Newspapers report that some tourists were allegedly bribing rescuers to get them out first. Australia’s Herald Sun website also reported how helicopters were evacuating the elderly, the unwell and some tourists who had more money.

Mr Seow said there are two other Singaporeans – both in their 20s – stuck there.

Together with his wife and other son, he has been monitoring the Internet every hour and waiting for updates. They only SMS when necessary because his children in Peru do not have a handphone charger.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said that two of the six affected Singaporeans have been safely airlifted by the Peruvian authorities to Cuzco city as of yesterday morning.

Added the spokesman: “As such, MFA is at present aware of four remaining Singaporeans awaiting to be airlifted. MFA has been in constant touch with the affected Singaporeans and their next-of-kin.”

The MFA is in contact with the Peruvian authorities, who are continuing with the airlift efforts.

This article was first published in The New Paper.