This Article is From Apr 26, 2015

Nepal Earthquake: Under-14 Girls' Football Team Reaches Delhi

The 18 girls of the Under-14 football team are back.

New Delhi:

The Under-14 girls' football team which had been detained in Nepal following Saturday's earthquake, has landed safely in Delhi.

In a tweet, NCP leader Praful Patel said, "The girls will be staying the night in IBIS hotel Delhi tonight and will be in their respective homes tomorrow".

The 18 girls and two support staff had been practicing in the stadium for the third-place play-off against Iran when the earthquake shook the venue and adjoining areas.

"We were finishing practice when we saw the stadium shaking," coach Maymol Rocky told PTI from Kathmandu. Hundreds had come to watch the practice session, she said.

"We ran to the middle of the pitch and remained there as we saw buildings collapse in the adjoining areas. It was a real scary moment," she said. "These girls are not even 14 and they have not experienced this kind of scary moment in their lives."

After returning to the hotel, the Indian and the Iranians team decided to sleep in open space inside the hotel premises in Kathmandu in fear of aftershocks.

Earlier today, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had tweeted that the girls would be evacuated on "priority". An official of the All India Football Federation in Delhi had said the team will be brought back to India by military aircraft, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

The team had lost to hosts Nepal in the semifinals on Friday. The players were originally to board a flight for India Sunday.

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