U.K. tourists stunned by Ivan

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LONDON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- British tourists who witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in the Caribbean seemed lost for words Saturday in describing the carnage.

Dozens of Brits who had been on Grenada were flown back to Gatwick Saturday on an emergency British Airways flight. Upon arrival, some were willing to talk -- or at least try to talk -- about their ordeal.

"You've seen it on the news, but you can't put into words actually experiencing it," said artist John Wilson. "First of all we thought it was a storm, but then you realize it is something else."

His wife, teacher Flora Shortt, said they had been in their self-contained villa Tuesday when the ceiling suddenly was lifted off by the wind.

"We heard a high noise and then the front of the roof ripped off," she said. "We spent the day in the bathroom with the door shut."

Another British couple on the same flight, Sarah Haddon and Ed Holley, said they had "never been so scared."

The couple, from Northamptonshire, arrived in Grenada Sunday for a week's holiday, but two days later they were forced to run for the hurricane shelter after the roof of their room collapsed.

Said construction worker Holley: "It was terrifying."