Darfield baker Daryl Collier thought a train had come off the rails and was coming through the back of his building when the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the Canterbury town about 4.30am today.
Mr Collier was working at the South Terrace bakery when the building began to shake violently, accompanied
by a loud roar.
"The railway line is right behind us and I thought it was a train coming right through the back of the building. It just got louder and louder."
It seemed like the ground shook for several minutes as he and a co-worker rushed to stand under doors, Mr Collier told NZPA.
"It seemed like five minutes but it was probably about three quarters of a minute. We were in the dark, the power went out straight away."
Mr Collier said they had candles but were not prepared for a major earthquake.
"I don't know how you can prepare."
Mr Collier said it was dramatic and he felt his life was in danger.
"You think of your family."
Items cooked for today had all been shaken off shelves and his deep fryer tipped on its side, spilling hot fat over the floor.
As Mr Collier spoke to NZPA another aftershock hit the area.
He said in other shops in Darfield everything was on the floor, although he said it was too soon to assess the structural damage to buildings.
If the power was restored today he would probably open and sell what he could, otherwise he would be thousands of dollars out of pocket.
The owner of the Darfield Hotel told Radio New Zealand he had suffered damage estimated at $15,000.
- NZPA
