By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

SOME Bahamian students in Jamaica asked to be airlifted to The Bahamas after an earthquake shook that country earlier this week. 

However, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said he told them it would be detrimental to their education to leave the country while it is still functioning.

Stephen Smith, the president of the Bahamian Students Association of the University of the West Indies Mona, told The Tribune yesterday that many students wanted to be airlifted to The Bahamas after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Jamaica on Monday.

He confirmed that no one was seriously hurt and there were no reports of damage to people’s belongings.

 He said one student told him a sheetrock panel fell on his leg when he tried to evacuate, but he was not seriously injured.

 He said the students were psychologically affected by the earthquake, calling them “emotionally distraught”. 

 “Everyone’s still on edge,” he said. “Just to lay down in the bedroom is still a fright because any kind of sudden movement, loud noise, or bump, you feel like the earthquake is about to happen.”

 “There wasn’t any loss of life. There’s moreso emotional damage that occurred, but there wasn’t any severe building infrastructure damage.”

 Mr Smith said there had been over 50 aftershocks since the earthquake.

 He confirmed that Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis shared a voice note with him expressing concern.

 He said Mr Davis said he spoke to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who assured him everything was operational in the country and at the university.

 Mr Mitchell encouraged students to stay put. 

 “The better view is for them to remain in place,” he said yesterday. “Follow the instructions of the authorities. Keep as safe as they can. If something catastrophic happens, we’ll intervene, but at the moment, it doesn’t appear to call for that.

 “It’s a scary thing, but if you’re going to go to school in Jamaica, it’s an earthquake zone so it’s a part of the reality.”