Petra Nemcova and the Tsunami

[SCBl0ndie]

From Sports Illustrated News..

Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Petra Nemcova was injured and her photographer boyfriend is missing after the pair were caught up in the Asian tsunami disaster.

Nemcova told the New York Daily News that she survived the tsunami, which has killed at least 33,000 people, by clinging to a palm tree for eight hours, despite a broken pelvis and internal injuries.

Rescuers in Phuket, Thailand, took her via stretcher to a local hospital. She was eventually airlifted to a hospital in Hat Yai, 150 miles southeast of Phuket.

"I was so broken, I couldn't walk," Nemcova told the Daily News. "There were so many people with horrible injuries, with blood everywhere. It was like a war movie.

"There might be pieces of bone stuck to my organs."

Nemcova's publicist, Rob Shuter, told the New York Post that his client is "very lucky to be alive."

Nemcova, who appeared on the 2003 SI swimsuit cover, and her boyfriend, British photographer Simon Atlee, had been vacationing in Phuket when the waves swept over them Sunday.

"I can't find Simon," Nemcova told the Daily News. "It was horrible. I'm very lucky, but I can't find Simon."

Atlee's agent, Eve Stoner, said British authorities had no information on Atlee's fate.

"We are just very hopeful," Stoner said. "As time goes on we are getting quite frantic and stressed about it. Our thoughts are really with Petra and Simon's family at the moment."

In addition to her SI cover and fashion spreads, the Czech-born Nemcova, 25, has appeared in magazines such as Marie Claire and Vogue, and also has modeled for Victoria's Secret.

Atlee, 33, is a well-known fashion photographer who recently shot the pictures for Nemcova's 2005 calendar.

Nemcova told the Daily News that a huge wave pulled her and Atlee from the bungalow they were staying in at Phuket.

"It was so powerful I couldn't get up. I couldn't get out of it," Nemcova told the Daily News from her hospital bed in Thailand.

"People and kids were screaming all over the place, 'Help, help.' And after a few minutes, you didn't hear the kids anymore."

Fashion designer Jamison Ernest told the Post that Nemcova and Atlee had been dating for two years. Ernest spent 15 hours trying trying to locate Nemcova before finally reaching her.

"She sounded beat-up," Ernest told the newspaper. "She was in terrible pain and obviously very distressed.

"She said she doesn't know what happened to Simon. She started crying when she mentioned his name."

Family and friends have been calling hospitals in Thailand in hopes of finding information about Atlee.

"I have spoken to his sister in England and his family is just frantic," Ernest told the Post. "They have heard nothing and they are going out of their minds with worry.

"Simon is a lovely guy, and we are just hoping and praying for the best."

I found this esspecially sad:

"People and kids were screaming all over the place, 'Help, help.' And after a few minutes, you didn't hear the kids anymore."

 

[TheSoCalledPrep]

Apparently, as I saw on the nightly news, Petra Nemcova watched her boyfriend be washed out to sea and then was stranded in a tree for hours while she watched bodies float by. She is now in a hospital in serious condition.

May all you prayers go out to all of the tsunami victims and those affected by it. *humble*

 

[TheSoCalledPrep]

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19092&highlight=petra+nemcova

Sorry mods. Go ahead and delete, or merge.. or something.

 

[model_mom]

There is a whole thread on this topic in "supporting cast". I would merge it if I could but it has to be moved by a mod resposible for this section. Thanks for posting.

 

[Judith]

all is as a nightmare.

 

[Bellissima]

I send our my deepest feelings to everyone......I hope that we, as people, are able to surpass this tragedy and save as many lives as possibel.
My cousing just got word that an agent from Women/Supreme NYC is also in Asia right now.....no word from him yet, I hope he still alive and safe!!

Bella

 

[chanelstarlett]

I did a donation today through unicef, I was mortified by how horriable this is and wanted to help any way I can.. Since I am not in s. asia I figured that would be the best way.. Anyone else who wants to help can also donate it is really easy and can be done online with a credit card. I am sure every little bit would help.. They are all in my prayers!!

 

[esmereldagrubb]

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/266012p-227820c.html




And we spend Billions of dollars to this stupid Iraqi WAR!

and as great a country america is, we will be donating millions more to help other countries as well.

 

[breathe0xygen]

... Everything I hear on the news just leaves me terrified. Horrible, just horrible.

 

[Misako]

Last I heard, she's on a hospital bed, so in the terms of that incapacitation, yes...I hope you weren't meaning anything more serious like paralysis or anything like that.

 

[Belowen]

Oh that is so terrible

 

[eternitygoddess]

I don't get it, with all the sophisticated equipment we have monitoring the environment, how could we not have anticipated this disaster?

My heart goes out to all the victimes. I can't imagine the horror they're going through.

 

[model_mom]

A lot of people knew what might happen after such a powerful earthquake but there was no warning system in that part of the world. By the time they found out it was too late. It happens so rarely in SE Asia that they thought there was no need for to have a system. Almost every other country in the world with a coastline has a warning system ,and that's the sad part.

 

[That Day]

it makes you feel so fortunate for what you do have since there are all those people (some) left with nothing.

 

[keesani]

A lot of people knew what might happen after such a powerful earthquake but there was no warning system in that part of the world. By the time they found out it was too late. It happens so rarely in SE Asia that they thought there was no need for to have a system. Almost every other country in the world with a coastline has a warning system ,and that's the sad part.

It makes me so angry that they pull the "it's never going to happen hear" card, you live on a coastline, it's possible. It makes me even angrier that America knew and didn't know what to do or who to tell. There must've been something they could've done and if they knew there was no way of preventing it, gotten straight over there to help.

Also, the death toll is now at about 60,000 and they expect it to keep rising.

 

[Misako]

It makes me so angry that they pull the "it's never going to happen hear" card, you live on a coastline, it's possible. It makes me even angrier that America knew and didn't know what to do or who to tell. There must've been something they could've done and if they knew there was no way of preventing it, gotten straight over there to help.

Also, the death toll is now at about 60,000 and they expect it to keep rising.

I don't think it's right to singularly accuse America - there are a lot of nations out there with such technology (such as Japan, who does periodically suffer from the effects of tsunamis) that weren't all that forthcoming, either. Not to mention that tsunamis, to begin with, are often mostly very sudden and unexpected. (yes, generally after earthquakes, but they can rise suddenly and before you know it, it's coming down on you).

I'm just glad to see all the people that are pitching in for the relief efforts.

 

[keesani]

I don't think it's right to singularly accuse America - there are a lot of nations out there with such technology (such as Japan, who does periodically suffer from the effects of tsunamis) that weren't all that forthcoming, either. Not to mention that tsunamis, to begin with, are often mostly very sudden and unexpected. (yes, generally after earthquakes, but they can rise suddenly and before you know it, it's coming down on you).

I'm just glad to see all the people that are pitching in for the relief efforts.

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that, I know there were other places that heard about the tsunami, I used America as an example. Anyway, it's a bad habit of mine to find countries to blame after disasters, I think what everyone should concentrate on is helping those in need.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

very disastrous just pray 4 everyone affected. it was so powerful abt 150 pple died on the eastafrican coast!!

 

[Deleted member 1957]

its actually quite a coincidence i watching an mtv spotrsillustrated swim suit special 2001 and she was among the models struggling with the weather and all that stuff

 

[model_mom]

It makes me so angry that they pull the "it's never going to happen hear" card, you live on a coastline, it's possible. It makes me even angrier that America knew and didn't know what to do or who to tell. There must've been something they could've done and if they knew there was no way of preventing it, gotten straight over there to help.

Also, the death toll is now at about 60,000 and they expect it to keep rising.

They did notify them of the possibility but with the remote regions and different islands how would you get the word out to everyone. There was a 2 hour time period between the time of the earthquake and the first killer wave, some people were saved but it was not possiible to reach everyone.