A Welsh family are lucky to be alive after a summer holiday abroad turned into a living nightmare in the blink of an eye. Emma Williams was excited to take her two daughters, Greta aged 12 and Eiry-ana aged eight on their first family holiday abroad to Turkey along with her partner of 10 years, Lennard.
Setting off on July 15, the family of four from Blackwood enjoyed their first few days in a resort in Alanya and heading out on fun excursions. A week into what was supposed to just be a 10-day vacation the family headed out for their second day trip that would include riding along the Taurus mountain in a bus travelling to the Green Canyon where they would hop on a boat and swim in the ocean and visit a zoo.
But the bus they were travelling on never made it to the zoo. According to Emma, the 42 degree heat had melted the asphalt of the roads along the bus route causing an accident.
Melted Asphalt Causes Loss of Control
She said: "The asphalt itself had melted so the driver had lost control and then we hurtled down sort of a bit of the mountain. We went off-road. He was trying to gain control, and there's a massive tree ahead of us, and I couldn't see quite clearly because obviously I was trying to find my children, make sure that we were okay."
"But it just all happened so quickly and the bus did flip around a few times. My daughter, unfortunately, Greta, the 12 year old, got stuck underneath the bus." Passengers from the bus as well as those from buses on the road behind quickly jumped to Greta's aid to rescue her from underneath the bus whilst her family watched on in "panic".
Emma stood screaming for help for her eldest daughter whilst, eight-year-old Eiry-ana, "thought Greta was dead" as she saw her trapped underneath the vehicle.
Passengers Help Lift Bus to Free Girl
A family from Newcastle were also on the bus that day and have described their "lucky" escape. Speaking to ChronicleLive, Chris Hartford said: "The bus went over, the next thing I know, we were lying there on the side of the bus with our seatbelts holding us up. From what the people on the other buses told me, we must have flipped around three or four times. It was a very scary moment and I just wanted to make sure that my family were safe."
"We then realised that a girl from another family, she must have only been around 12 or 13, was pinned under the bus. Around 30 of us helped to lift it back onto its wheels to free her."
Greta was freed from underneath the bus by helpers and an ambulance arrived on the mountain side within 40 minutes. Emma said: "It was such a scary experience because obviously there was a massive language barrier we didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't go in with her. It was just horrific."
Injuries and Repatriation
She continued: "It was really terrible for Greta. She's 12. She was awake through the whole process and she didn't know what was going on and she's never actually been in hospital overnight before. So, this was terribly scary for her."
X-rays revealed that from the incident Greta had broken her pelvis and sacrum and remained in the hospital in Turkey with her family for eight days. Finally on July 30 the family received medical repatriation and an air ambulance flew the family home to Rhoose before Greta was transported to The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran where she stayed for a further four days.
Emma and Lennard were relieved that they had opted for superior travel insurance for their first trip abroad. Emma said: "As we picked the superior insurance, the only thing I was worried about losing was my suitcase, not nearly my entire family."
"Luckily, we had fortunately paid for a superior insurance which was unlimited medical care and unlimited medical repatriation." Communication of a third party between the Turkish hospital and the family's insurer proved difficult and Lennard was "relentless" in making sure that everything was taken care of and that Greta could get the care she needed whilst away from home.
Greta was discharged from The Grange on Monday, August 3 after receiving physiotherapy to help her use crutches to get in and out of bed as she has been placed on bed rest. Doctors have said that her recovery could take between 8 to 12 weeks and hope full recovery in six months.
Whilst at home and on bed rest Emma is ensuring that Greta has plenty of activities to do including different crafts and reading.
