A LaGrange couple remained hospitalized today after surviving a plane crash on a Caribbean island.

Don and Cathy Henderson were among 131 people aboard the Boeing 737 which landed short of the runway during a thunderstorm on San Andres Island, Colombia, on Monday. One person died.

The death toll was so low that the island’s governor called it a miracle.

“They were lucky. It was a traumatic experience, but they were just praising the Lord that it wasn’t a whole lot worse,” said Carolyn Hill, sister of Don Henderson.

Hours after the crash, family members got a call from Cathy Henderson to tell them of the accident.

“Cathy called and left a message on my voice mail,” said Wanda Malone, a nurse at Emory Clark-Holder Clinic. “We’re not allowed to have our phones at work, so I didn’t get the message until my break. She said, ‘I guess you heard about the plane crash. Well, that was us.’ I hadn’t heard anything about it since I was working.

“I had just bought a big iced mocha drink and when I heard the message it just fell out of my hand. It was surreal.”

The couple had traveled to the island for a two-week vacation, celebrating Cathy Henderson’s retirement from teaching in Gwinnett County. The couple are both retired teachers who moved to LaGrange – Don Henderson’s hometown – about 18 months ago.

In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Don Henderson told CBS’ “The Early Show” that the plane broke up in seconds.

“(I) looked around toward the back of the plane and I saw fire on the tarmac, and I told my wife that this is our way out, follow me, we got to get out of here.

“So we picked our way across the rubble and slid down the metal and got onto the runway and got away from the plane as quickly as we could,” he said.

Henderson, 61, said he and his wife suffered cuts and bruises.

However, Tuesday, the family received a call from the U.S. Embassy in Colombia that both the Hendersons had been admitted to a hospital in Bogota.

“Cathy has a wrist injury and there is some concern about Don’s kidneys. He also had shoulder and rib pain. I don’t know any details though,” Malone said today.

The Hendersons were traveling with another couple from the Atlanta area, who remained hospitalized with spinal injuries.

The Hendersons will cut their two-week vacation short and return home as soon as they are able.

“The embassy is trying to get emergency passports so they can come home. They didn’t get any of their personal belongings” when escaping from the plane, Malone said.

Once word about the crash spread, friends and family have offered strong support, she said.

“We’ve just had an enormous amount of friends and family offering support and prayers. We do appreciate that,” Malone said.

Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown@ lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.