EXCLUSIVE: Philadelphians Stranded In Mexico After Hurricane Odile Speak To CBS 3
By Noel McLaren
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- 9/19/14 UPDATE: Some tourists from Philadelphia stranded in Mexico by Hurricane Odile should be home soon.
The group of four is expected to arrive Friday night at Philadelphia International Airport.
WATCH: Philadelphians Stranded In Mexico After Hurricane Odile Returning Home
Two of them talked exclusively with Eyewitness News reporter Noel McLaren Thursday night.
This was far from the vacation four Philadelphia travelers planned to a luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas.
"The windows actually blew in on people, cielings were collapsing," Nat Gutwirth said.
From a tiny internet cafe through a weak Skype signal in Le Paz, Nat Gutwirth, and his sister-in law to be Lindsey Regan say this is the most communication they've had with the outside world in days. They shared their story of survival from the storm.
"The entire area is completely devastated, no power lines, no cell service, nothing," Lindsey Regan said.
Hurricane Odile hit their hotel on day two of their vacation Sunday. They've been stranded in Mexico every since with their significant others. Now they're struggling to get back home to Philadelphia.
"We don't know how to go about getting on a flight," Regan said.
"We actually passed through the Le Paz airport yesterday and it was completely inaccessible. There are literally thousands of people trying to get in," Gutwirth said.
With no help from the U.S. government:
"The U.S. Consolate just said go sit at the airport and hope for the best," Regan said.
They're reaching out to Eyewitness News hoping to grab the attention of local legislators. And that's just the start of their problems.
"Now the growing fear is that people around here are in a devastated area and they're lacking resources so it's entirelely possible that we could become targets because we have money," Regan said.
For now they say they've found shelter in a Le Paz hotel four hours away from Cabo. It's not much, but until they can get home, they say it will do.
"We have a hotel with four walls and running water," Regan said.
We're luckier than a lot of people," Gutwirth said.
They tell Eyewitness News 30,000 other Americans are also stranded there with them in Mexico. Most of them are from the West Coast, particularly from California, but they said that they did meet up with another group of people who were from the Northeast.
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