SINGAPORE : Some 70 Singaporeans holidaying in China returned home early Saturday morning, after a close shave with the earthquake disaster.

The two groups under SA Tours had signed up for tours of between eight and 10 days.

One tour group member, Winifred Lee, is glad she is home.

The tour bus she was in encountered a road block due to the earthquake.

She said, "I thought it was just a landslide. We saw a lot of rocks on the road. In order for the coach to pass, we got down to clear the path."

Another group thanked their lucky stars. Their coach, which was headed into Wenchuan, the epicentre of the earthquake, was delayed.

Tour group member Phang Hui Qi said, "So we're really very lucky, and the thing is we didn't feel any tremors at all. No physical trauma or mental trauma. We really didn't feel there was an earthquake until (we saw it on) the news."

Some Singaporeans said they had to camp in their tour bus for a night because it was not safe to drive. And when they got to the airport in Chengdu to fly home, the scene was chaotic with crowds waiting to fly out of China.

The crowded environment in the airport even caused some to faint.

But the Singaporeans said they are unfazed by the disaster and hope to return to China again for a holiday. - CNA/ms