TWO Aberystwyth women say they feel “incredibly lucky” to be alive after they were airlifted to safety following the earthquake in New Zealand on Monday.

Nia Roberts and Sian Dewhurst, who were travelling in a camper van in Kaikoura, in the country’s South Island, when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck, have described the “scariest moments” of their lives.

“We had got to Kaikoura that afternoon and had done a beautiful trek, then were booked into a campsite that night, sleeping in our van,” Nia Roberts, who works at The Libertine Cocktail Bar, told the Cambrian News this week.

“At 12.02am, it hit.

“We were just getting ready to fall asleep, and after the initial comments of ‘what the hell’, we realised what was happening and panic kicked in.

Nia told the Cambrian News yesterday: “It was a bizarre rolling motion on the ground and shaking as well — we were like two beans inside a tin.

“We immediately headed up the hill to high ground, but the highest point accessible was only 60ft above.

“The tsunami and earthquake sirens were going on — it was by far the scariest moment of my life. The possibility of tsunami was our biggest fear.”

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