The 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the South Island city early on Tuesday afternoon local time, causing extensive damage to homes and buildings across the city and a death toll that could rise as high as 300.
It was the middle of the night in England when the disaster took place but Nelsen and wife Monica were awake and immediately tried to get in touch with friends and family back home.
“I was up when I heard about it at about 2am but couldn’t get hold of anybody,” he says. “Monica checked the telephone for messages and said, ‘Oh, my God’. We turned on CNN and tried to make phone calls but we couldn’t get through for ages.
“It was an incredible feeling of helplessness. It was horrible. It’s a weird feeling.”
Fortunately, Nelsen’s family escaped unscathed and a new addition to the clan even arrived shortly afterwards. Sister Stephanie Martin, who was 37 weeks pregnant, went into labour after being knocked over by a jolt during the quake.
“She was rushed to hospital and it was a bit of a struggle but, thank God, she had a little baby boy,” Nelsen says. “But you hear stories about other families and your heart just drops. I’d go back tomorrow if I knew I could help.
“I said to my wife, ‘I’ve been away from home for 14 or 15 years and you get homesick but I’ve never felt that I wanted to be back in Christchurch as much as I did on Wednesday’. I just wanted to be there for my family and friends.”
The club captain was given the day off his training duties at Blackburn and is grateful to have the support of his employers.
“The club have been great,” he says. “I didn’t have to train on the morning it happened. I’m going to wear a black armband but I don’t know if the rest of my team mates will be allowed.”