EXCLUSIVE

A former Gillingham schoolboy has described the terrifying moment he was caught up in the New Zealand earthquake.

Mark Harper was among hundreds of people trapped inside the Forsyth Barr office tower when the tremor hit Christchurch.

The 27-year-old expat, pictured left, had to abseil down the swaying 17-storey building when the staircases collapsed.

He said: "I felt the building start to shake a lot and it was swaying from side to side.

"I could see the city shaking. It's usually a fantastic view, but it just turned into carnage in front of me.

"The scariest thing was seeing the famous cathedral tower collapse in front of my eyes, knowing there were people inside. I thought at that point that my building was going to go down.

"After that it just went completely quiet. Then you could just see people running and screaming. It was like a bomb had gone off. I looked out the window and saw buildings collapsed all over the place."

The staircases in the building where Mark works in recruitment collapsed, leaving him with no obvious way of escaping.

The high-rise had been equipped with emergency supplies after 9/11, including ropes and sledge-hammers.

So, with the building still swaying, his co-workers smashed the glass and one by one they started lowering themselves out of the window.

After being trapped for an hour-and-a-half, Mark - who was on the fourth floor - was left with no choice but to follow.

The former St John Fisher School pupil said: "I just saw the carnage everywhere. There were some big aftershocks when I got outside.

"At that point I saw the convenience store where I get a drink at lunch go down. I could have been in there.

"I keep thinking, had I gone out to lunch at that time I could have been gone. I'm definitely one of the lucky ones."

Almost as soon as Mark's feet touched the ground he rang his dad Stephen in Gillingham, to let him know he was OK.

Stephen, pictured right and of Roseberry Road, said: "He wanted to call me before I saw it on the news. He had a lucky escape, but I think the whole experience will haunt him."