They Said My New Husband Had Died In Crash ..

[churchill]

Claire's hours of hel_l after honeymoon plane horror

As newlywed Claire Harvey crawled to safety from the plane wreckage, she knew she had left her husband behind.

Her leg had been crushed and, when she came round hours later in a Thai hospital, a nurse broke the news that Nick had died.

For three agonising hours she believed she was a widow.

Claire, 33, said: "I was told they hadn't been able to get to him - that he'd been crushed. There was a language barrier but that's what I thought she meant."

But the nurse was mistaken and Nick was in fact lying in a hospital on the other side of town.

Claire recalled: "I was in a lot of pain, I remember being really upset and panicking. I had cuts to my head and they had shaved my fringe off.

"I knew my leg was broken. That was around the time they told me about Nick. I knew I had left him in the plane. The nurse came in and said Nick had died."

The couple were 10 days into their honeymoon when their 70-seater plane crashed into a disused control tower at Ko Samui airport in Thailand.

The pilot was killed and dozens of passengers were hurt, but dazed Claire crawled to safety.

Nick, 32, who also suffered a crushed leg in the August 4 crash, remained pinned to his seat at the front of the plane.

Claire was taken to Thai International Hospital in Ko Samui, unaware that emergency services had cut Nick free more than an hour after the crash and taken him to Bangkok Samui Hospital.

Claire, a recruitment consultant, said thinking her husband had died was the worst moment of her life.

She said: "I was covered in blood and I couldn't really grasp all that was going on - it was awful. That was probably the worst part of it all."

When the hospital realised some of the injured had been taken to a different hospital they made inquiries and told Claire that Nick was there.

Recalling the marvellous moment she heard the news, she said: "I was in a bubble of total shock and pain in the emergency room.

"Then a nurse came up and told me she'd just heard he was in another hospital. It made my injuries, pain and terror feel totally insignificant.

"I just wanted to see him as soon as possible to believe it."

It was several hours before they were re-united and even then it was only by chance.

"I got transferred to Nick's hospital and I was coming out of the X-ray room as he was being wheeled in.

"We couldn't jump up but we managed to touch each other through the bars of the bed. It was a very emotional moment.

"I kept looking at him and couldn't believe he was there. I'll never take him for granted."

Skidded Nick added: "When I was in the plane I knew she had got out but I definitely knew she was injured."

They wed in Chichester, West Sussex, and flew to Thailand on honeymoon two days later.

Their first week was spent relaxing in Tubkaak in Krabi and they planned to continue their holiday at the livelier island resort of Ko Samui.

The couple were sitting in the front of the Bangkok Airways internal flight when it skidded on landing.

After two weeks in Bangkok having physio twice a day - and a visit from the British ambassador - they are now home in Portsmouth.

Nick, an accounts manager with Virgin media, said: "Looking at pictures of the plane, I just think we're lucky not to have been killed." Claire added: "It feels like something I've seen in the cinema... a bit surreal."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2...15875-21641547/

[MSingh]

Incredible but after living here for 6 Years now, completely believeable sadly..

[carmine]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

[billd766]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

If you read the thread she said this

Claire, 33, said: "I was told they hadn't been able to get to him - that he'd been crushed. There was a language barrier but that's what I thought she meant."

But the nurse was mistaken and Nick was in fact lying in a hospital on the other side of town.

Not that the nurse giving information was correct or incorrect but that Clare admitted that there was a language barrier and it was she thought the nurse had said.

It is not the same thing at all.

Not all Thais have a perfect command of English as not all English people have a perfect command of Thai.

[MSingh]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

They probably laughed about it..

Of course there's a Language Barrier, but after my experience of 6 Years i am also aware that this " Barrier " is used daily as an excuse to cover up " misunderstandings " & blatant, outright lying ..

[Heng]

Might have been a lawsuit if the crash happened somewhere more litigious.

[carmine]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

If you read the thread she said this

Claire, 33, said: "I was told they hadn't been able to get to him - that he'd been crushed. There was a language barrier but that's what I thought she meant."

But the nurse was mistaken and Nick was in fact lying in a hospital on the other side of town.

Not that the nurse giving information was correct or incorrect but that Clare admitted that there was a language barrier and it was she thought the nurse had said.

It is not the same thing at all.

Not all Thais have a perfect command of English as not all English people have a perfect command of Thai.

A simple answer "we not sure at this time" would suffice

[thairaid]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

If you read the thread she said this

Claire, 33, said: "I was told they hadn't been able to get to him - that he'd been crushed. There was a language barrier but that's what I thought she meant."

But the nurse was mistaken and Nick was in fact lying in a hospital on the other side of town.

Not that the nurse giving information was correct or incorrect but that Clare admitted that there was a language barrier and it was she thought the nurse had said.

It is not the same thing at all.

Not all Thais have a perfect command of English as not all English people have a perfect command of Thai.

true, and not all Thais have a perfect command of Thai! ...nor English of English!

[animatic]

What a great ending. I don't suppose anything was said to the half wit that gave out the incorrect information.

If you read the thread she said this

Claire, 33, said: "I was told they hadn't been able to get to him - that he'd been crushed. There was a language barrier but that's what I thought she meant."

But the nurse was mistaken and Nick was in fact lying in a hospital on the other side of town.

Not that the nurse giving information was correct or incorrect but that Clare admitted that there was a language barrier and it was she thought the nurse had said.

It is not the same thing at all.

Not all Thais have a perfect command of English as not all English people have a perfect command of Thai.

A simple answer "we not sure at this time" would suffice

But that answer would have required thinking ahead to her reaction.

Not a local trait it seems.