Last-minute decision ‘saved our lives’

Friday 25th February 2011, 2:58PM GMT.

Jackie Monkman and Dr Peter smart who escaped unhurt

ISLANDER Jackie Monkman made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the supermarket instead of the library in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday.

That choice may have saved her life.

It meant that when the 6.3 magnitude earthquake tore through the city, she was in a modern building that withstood the shock – not crossing Cathedral Square when the huge spire fell to the ground.

‘Going to the supermarket probably saved our lives,’ said Miss Monkman (54), who is known in her home Island as a former journalist with the JEP and the BBC.
‘We have heard so many stories of people who took the wrong decision on the day and were killed by falling masonry.’

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