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'American Idol' Elliott Yamin's Chile quake terror: 'I shed a few tears. It was pretty emotional'
"American Idol" season 5 finalist Elliott Yamin talked to ABC News on Saturday (Feb. 27) about his experience during the 8.8 earthquake in Concepcion.Yamin had just returned to his hotel after a performance and was sitting at his desk, on his computer when the quake started.
"Out of nowhere, the rumbling started," Elliott recalled. "At first it was more kind of a swaying back and forth and then it was a real kind of fast gyrating and shaking."
He was on the sixth floor of his hotel and quickly ran out to the hallway and found his way to the staircase.
"I thought it was a 6 or 7," he said of the quake's strength. "The shaking and swaying of the building and the rumble, it was so significant. I didn't know if I was going to make it downstairs, i was so high up."
"I thought it was a 6 or 7," he said of the quake's strength. "The shaking and swaying of the building and the rumble, it was so significant. I didn't know if I was going to make it downstairs, i was so high up."
He said it was a terrifying scene and that there were pregnant women in the hotel who were hysterical. "I shed a few tears," he admits. "I was pretty emotional. It was a frantic scene at one point.''
He says it's getting a bit calmer. "The aftershocks are far less frequent."
As The Dish Rag first reported via Twitter, Elliott had the presence of mind to tweet about the quake as it was happening, writing, "I swear I thought this was the end of my life."
CNN's Josh Levs also spoke over the phone live with Yamin earlier this morning about his recount of the earthquake over Twitter.
CNN's Josh Levs also spoke over the phone live with Yamin earlier this morning about his recount of the earthquake over Twitter.
Hang in there, Elliott. Our prayers and condolences go out to everyone in Chile affected by this horrible disaster.
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Thanks for the information during your ordeal. Happy your safe.
A fan
I hope E shares more on Idol in April when we see footage in Africa with Kara. Does the country need as much help as Haiti? I can only hope E sings a new song after "Can't Keep Loving You (From a Distance)" and gives "You" a try. Saw the video last year.
i cant agree more. the scene on the hotel with pregnant women can be so emotional.
Yamin is a *****. Crying her thought he was going to die. I have family in Viña del Mar where he was and they{re not crying about dying and they can't just fly back to LA
poor elliot i feel so bad i hope he dint get hurt in any way . prayin 4 him
What a little B**** I was with one of the other American artists there, and I can vouch that almost nothing happened in Vina Del Mar. The hotel we were all staying at was super safe and NOT crumbling. There was barely any damage in Vina Del Mar, as we were HOURS away from the epicenter. He was the only one crying in the streets, along with some of the British artists.