topic Re: Narrow escapes in Community Spirit

Narrow escapes

chinwag.choker — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:08:04 GMT

Have you ever had a close shave involving a famous disaster? For instance, the famous airbus crash that departed South America for France and ended up in the sea, no survivors. One woman who was late for the flight was interviewed about her relief. Two days later she was killed in a car crash in Europe. (I know, it sounds like the plot for Final Destination but if your google the story. it actually is true).

Fortunately, a friend of mine was a little more lucky. She had been a passenger on a first leg of a flight from Frankfurt that had been carrying the bomb that went off over Lockerbie. It wasn't her plane that exploded, I think the bomb was transferred to another plane in London that took off for New York. This happened in the late 80's, investigators said the bomb was so unstable it could have gone off at any time. My friend is still alive and well.

My story is not so exciting. My family, myself, hubby and three kids were passing through Hoddle St ten minutes before the massacre took place. We were coming back from the inlaws (I think it was a Sunday night) and my hubby wanted to watch the last ten minutes of some tv show with his dad but I had a headache and demanded that we leave. He has never argued with me since.

Do you have a narrow escape story?

Re: Narrow escapes

clair.de.lune — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:14:14 GMT

I lived just on the other side of the park in Clifton Hill at the time, we heard lots of helicopters that night.

I also lived the corner of Drummond & Queensbury St Carlton at the time of the Russell st bombing, the big three story terrace house shook when the bomb went off

Not really narrow escapes but..

Re: Narrow escapes

chinwag.choker — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:17:53 GMT

The Russell St bombing, was that the car bomb outside the police station in the city? I was working a few blocks away at the time and heard the commotion, terrifying.

Re: Narrow escapes

clair.de.lune — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:19:46 GMT

Yes that was the one

Re: Narrow escapes

imastawka — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:22:55 GMT

clair, I was also in Clifton Hill that night just on the other side of the railway.

We were complaining about the Police choppers interfering with tv reception.

Little did we know.

Not such a close shave, but I'd rather not get closer thank you

Re: Narrow escapes

chinwag.choker — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:23:40 GMT

That bombing disturbed me more than anything had before. It took me a long time to get over it and yet I and nobody I know was directly effected. I think it was the sound and vibration that got me. We had to leave our office building and got the rest of the day off work but I would have preferred to stay and give my mind something to think about. I was at a loss for weeks, I think because that young, female officer died. Nothing like it had happened in Melbourne before. I think that was when our city lost some of its innocence. We were all so naive.

Re: Narrow escapes

clair.de.lune — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:26:48 GMT

Really? Yeah I'd have to google the name of the street, I forget now? Other side of the Clifton Hill park

Re: Narrow escapes

clair.de.lune — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:28:08 GMT

Yeah it really shook the ground

Re: Narrow escapes

chinwag.choker — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 07:38:14 GMT

When I was a young girl, a man tried to get me into his car, on my way home from school. Luckily I was on a busy street and when I walked by he followed in his car. Instinct tol,s me not to turn down the quite side road to my home but keep walking to the local library where I knew the woman who worked there and she called the police. The guy vanished though and was never caught. I often wonder what would have happened had I accepted the ride. I was only 6 but didn't like adults, particularly men, so would never have willingly gone, so different to my own daughter who would talk to anyone and never minded being held by strangers. I minded though and made sure she never went anywhere without an adult until she was 15.

Re: Narrow escapes

grandmoon — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 09:15:42 GMT

Years ago we were travelling to Europe. Our plane was about an hour late leaving Sydney so we were an hour late landing in Singapore.

Our plane wasn't allowed to taxi to the terminus as the security men had shot a person attempting to hijack a plane about the time we were to have landed.

Re: Narrow escapes

mainecoon1 — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 09:51:34 GMT

in the 1980s I was a nurse in the British Army and stationed at Mill Hill Barracks in North London I had been on duty all night and at 5am was relieved of duty, as I had been on night duty all week I was on leave for the next 5 days so at 6am I walked to the station so I could spend my leave with family When I got to my home station around 8.30am my Mum was there to meet me to tell me I had to return to the barracks as a bomb had gone off and totally destroyed the male accommodation block. I lost a close male friend and to this day wonder what I would have done if I had still been on duty Even though we were trained for this kind of event the person that relived me of duty still suffers from guilt and PTSD to this day as she felt she could have done more and might have saved 2 lives.

On the other side a friend of my OH was due to fly to Northern Ireland to spend a week with her boyfriend, she decided to bring her flight forward by 3 hours. The flight she was on crashed at East Midland Airport, killing over half on board, she was sitting in the middle of the plane and survived but everyone around her died. We have not seen her for 18 years but the last time we saw her she was suffering from survivor guild as she could not come to terms with the fact she survived and all the people around her did not. If she had flown on the flight she had originally booked she would have arrived safe and sound.

Re: Narrow escapes

how.about.another.price — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:13:19 GMT

That's chilling, mainecoon1.

Re: Narrow escapes

how.about.another.price — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:26:37 GMT

@clair.de.lune wrote:
Really? Yeah I'd have to google the name of the street,

Of course you would, you didn't even live in Australia then, LOL!!!

Re: Narrow escapes

how.about.another.price — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:40:35 GMT

@grandmoon wrote:
Years ago we were travelling to Europe. Our plane was about an hour late leaving Sydney so we were an hour late landing in Singapore.

Our plane wasn't allowed to taxi to the terminus as the security men had shot a person attempting to hijack a plane about the time we were to have landed.

What happened to the hijacker?

Re: Narrow escapes

the_great_she_elephant — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:52:46 GMT

@how.about.another.price wrote:
@grandmoon wrote:
Years ago we were travelling to Europe. Our plane was about an hour late leaving Sydney so we were an hour late landing in Singapore.

Our plane wasn't allowed to taxi to the terminus as the security men had shot a person attempting to hijack a plane about the time we were to have landed.

What happened to the hijacker?

He was shot.

Re: Narrow escapes

how.about.another.price — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 11:56:44 GMT

@clair.de.lune wrote:
I lived just on the other side of the park in Clifton Hill at the time, we heard lots of helicopters that night.

I also lived the corner of Drummond & Queensbury St Carlton at the time of the Russell st bombing, the big three story terrace house shook when the bomb went off

Not really narrow escapes but..

Not a narrow escape at all love as you were on a different continent! 😉

Re: Narrow escapes

how.about.another.price — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 12:05:37 GMT

@clair.de.lune wrote:
*runs off to google Russell St bombing*

...Yes that was the one

Re: Narrow escapes

twinkles**stars — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:49:21 GMT

Not famous but a narrow escape.

When I was 20 my dad would drive me to the station on his way to work every morning. I had recently broken off a relationship and spent my savings on a car only a few weeks before my darling dad was killed on his way to work....had I been with him I wouldn't be here today.

Re: Narrow escapes

azureline** — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 21:36:41 GMT

In the early 70's, my friend and I went on a date with 2 boys she knew from her hometown...........to the drive in, in Canberra. When we arrived there, they stopped up the road and asked us to get in the boot as they didn't have enough money to pay for us all to get into the drivein movie.

We refused and paid our own way in. Needless to say, we never went out with them again.

A few months later they were in the news for picking up 2 hitch hikers on the way to Sydney. They dropped them off to make camp for the night, sneaked back later and raped the woman and stabbed her husband to death.

Re: Narrow escapes

grandmoon — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 23:19:01 GMT

They shot him and left his body on the tarmac for over 5 hours.