Air New Zealand passengers who endured a nightmare bus trip along the Kaikoura coast during this year's Easter storm, have appealed to the Prime Minister for an inquiry.
Sean Trengrove. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
They were forced to make the trip by bus, as the storm grounded airlines to Nelson.
Slips blocked the road, stranding them overnight, amid high winds and driving rain, with no communications and no onboard toilet.
The passengers spent a total of 22 hours on the bus from the time they left Christchurch Airport on 17 April to the time they returned again.
One passenger, Marianne Allom, said it was a night from hell and she thought she was going to die.
"I was making my peace. It wasn't great peace because I had my 18-year-old son with me... it was terrifying," she said.
On Monday, one of the passengers, Sean Trengrove, hand delivered a letter to the Prime Minister, calling on him to investigate.
The passengers believe there could have been a gap in emergency management control on the night.
Oliver Sutherland, who was also onboard, says weather conditions for everyone involved were unpleasant inside and out.
"The bus had no lavatory, it had no toilet facilities at all and it was leaking, it was an old bus...it was pouring with rain, it was dark, it was windy," he said.
Mr Sutherland wanted John Key to fully investigate.
"He (John Key) at least really can take an overview of the circumstances that arise when there is a certain act of god I suppose, which nobody can control," he said.
The letter to the Prime Minister. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Oliver Sutherland said a police officer did stop by late at night to check on the passengers, but did not return.
Rachel Cope was on a plane that attempted to land in Nelson and then was stuck on the bus.
She believed she cheated death twice.
"It was just one of those weird sort of things when you just feel like you are in one of those long, drawn out nightmare - dream scenario, where you are out of control," she said.
Another passenger, Radio New Zealand Music Producer John Pilley, said word of mouth was used to pass on information about road condition, and that needs to be looked at.
"There was no communications on the bus, power went out, there was no cellphone coverage, no landline coverage, so the ability of people to let others know what conditions were like was probably nonexistent, unless it was done by word of mouth," he said.
Eventually in the early hours of the next morning the slip was cleared away so the bus could get through and travel back to Christchurch.
Lessons learned
The Kaikoura Civil Defence Controller, Danny Smith, said emergency services got to the scene as soon as possible that morning.
"In my mind and I believe in the police's mind and the roading contractors as well, in the knowledge I have, it would have been not safe and really really dangerous to send anybody else any earlier than that," he said.
Mr Smith said some things were changing as a result of the storm.
"We're also updating our full list of radio communications and sat phones, which played a bit of a role, but unfortunately there's only about four in the town," he said.
Air New Zealand would not be interviewed for this story, but in a statement said it was investigating, with findings and recommendations expected in about a fortnight.
The police did not return requests for an interview and had not yet responded to Oliver Sutherland.
