An Ottawa soccer team was forced to find emergency shelter after being caught in a string of tornadoes that ravaged the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas Tuesday.
"It was all very surreal," said player Dylan Lawrence. "We didn't understand what was going on."
The members of the Ottawa South United soccer league were in Texas to take part in the Dallas Cup.
They were touring the city when the tornado sirens sounded. Most of the boys fled back to their hotel while some were forced to take shelter in a mall.
"After we saw the footage and all the pictures, we realized we had just survived a tornado," Lawrence said.
The son of Steve Kanellakos, Ottawa's deputy city manager, plays on the team. Ironically, Kanellakos oversees Ottawa's emergency preparedness.
None of the players were hurt in the storm and they were back on the pitch Wednesday.
They lost the match to a team from New Jersey and will head back to the capital on Monday.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
