Rescue efforts intensify amid aftershocks in Nepal

[European Knight]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/death-toll-in-nepal-quake-exceeds-1900/2015/04/26/50af52d2-eb95-11e4-8581-633c536add4b_story.html

Rescue efforts intensify amid aftershocks in Nepal

ITANAGAR, India — Nearly 24 hours after a devastating earthquake shook Nepal, killing more than 2,500 people in three countries, workers were still trying to rescue victims in rural areas of the Himalayan nation and atop Mount Everest, efforts that were complicated by weather and recurring aftershocks that kept the country on edge.

After Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake left a trail of devastation across the region, Nepal’s capital had become a tent city, as thousands of residents displaced stayed in their dark gardens and out on the cracked streets and lanes, afraid to go back inside because of waves of aftershocks. They remained there out of fear Sunday as day dawned. The most recent tremor happened east of the capital Sunday afternoon, registering 6.7 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The situation was worse in the villages outside the capital city that rescue crews had yet to reach, and hospitals around the region struggled to cope with an estimated 4,000 injured.

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[European Knight]

http://www.citypress.co.za/news/sa-climbers-tell-of-hell-on-everest-after-earthquake/

SA climbers tell of ‘hell’ on Everest after earthquake

While helicopters rescue injured climbers from base camp at Mount Everest, an adventurer who is among at least 11 South Africans who are trapped on the mountain following a massive earthquake in Nepal has described the scene on the avalanche-hit mountain as “dire”.

Sean Wisedale, the first African to climb the highest mountain on each continent, said on his blog that there was nowhere to go that was any safer than where they were at base camp.

“We survived because of the position of our camp. We’re protected by being centrally away from the ice-laden slopes and we’re surrounded by large glacial pools and deep empty motes. Moving down the valley exposes us to rock fall off the slopes should there be another quake.”

He described the circumstances that the mountaineers faced as “dire”.

“As I lie here writing this, the ground is moving beneath me. My heart leaps every time the earth moves. I can’t get used to it. It feels like we’re afloat and there is massive power and force behind the movements. These are the after shocks. Still, I am worried that something more violent may happen.”

Wisedale was one of at least 11 South Africans who were on Mount Everest at the time that the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Kathmandu in Nepal, causing avalanches on the mountain.

According to Urban Everest, the South Africans (one of whom is on the north side, in Tibet) had joined different expeditions.

Saray Khumalo, who is attempting to be the first black woman to climb the peak, arrived back at base camp this morning.

Yesterday expedition organisers Ubuntu Everest (she is with Asian Trekking) reported Khumalo as saying that all was well, despite the circumstances: “The earthquake and multiple avalanches [occurred] and I was on a shaking glacier between camps 1 and 2 at 11.50am with a sherpa. Going back we found the craves had swallowed the ladder and in the heavy snow we got lost.”

She said she was “shaking like a leaf” by the time she arrived at Camp 2, and had to wait for the “ice doctors” – the sherpas who fix the ropes and ladders that the climbers use – to fix the way before she could make her way back to base camp.

Khumalo, who was hoping to raise R1 million to set up libraries at schools by reaching the summit of Everest later this year, added that she was “still climbing with a purpose”.

Wisedale described the avalanche as “unimaginable horror”.

“We all dived into our safest and most shielded tents. The horror was unimaginable as it went completely dark and we huddled around hoping not to be crushed alive. The tent held up.”

The earthquake has so far claimed the lives of 3 200 people, according to Reuters, at least 17 of whom were climbers.

The other South Africans who are known to be on the mountain are Lysle Turner, Ronnie Muhl, Donna McTaggart, Elizabeth Bool, Marlette Hegyi, Wilmien van der Merwe, Nico Oosthuizen and Katlego Letheo. According to Ubuntu Everest, they are believed to be safe.

Mountain rescue teams are using helicopters to airlift climbers.

Reuters reported that three helicopters had reached camps 1 and 2, which are at altitudes of more than 6000 metres.

Each helicopter was only capable of carrying two climbers due to the thin air.

An estimated 100 climbers and guides were safe but trapped at camps 1 and 2 by the earthquake, which rendered the treacherous Khumbu icefalls leading up to them from base camp impassable, reported Reuters.

“We are still operational (by incredible luck) and assisting where we can. Helicopters have been flying in all day to evacuate the wounded. We are thankful to be safe and alive. Even now there are still small after shocks going off around us. We are unsure of what we should do – leave or stay – we haven’t made that decision yet,” said Wisedale, whose posts had been relayed using a satellite phone.

“My greatest hope is that Mother Nature will settle down,” said Wisedale. “History tells us that after the storm there will always be a calm. I hope the storm has passed.”

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[European Knight]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/04/28/uk-quake-nepal-collapse-idUKKBN0NG07F20150428

Nepal quake victims still stranded, PM says toll could be 10,000

(Reuters) - People stranded in remote villages and towns across Nepal were still waiting for aid and relief to arrive on Tuesday, four days after a devastating earthquake destroyed buildings and roads and killed more than 4,600 people.

The government has yet to assess the full scale of the damage wrought by Saturday's 7.9 magnitude quake, unable to reach many mountainous areas despite aid supplies and personnel pouring in from around the world.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters the death toll could reach 10,000, as information of damage from far-flung villages and towns has yet to come in.

That would surpass the 8,500 who died in a 1934 earthquake, the last disaster on this scale to hit the Himalayan nation


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[European Knight]

http://www.dawn.com/news/1178906

French “spiderman” climbs Paris skyscraper for Nepal

French climber Alain Robert, also known as “Spiderman” climbed up the highest building in Paris with a Nepalese flag in his pocket as a tribute to more than 3000 victims of the earthquake.

Robert, 53, scaled the 210-metre Tour de Montparnasse without a safety harness in just below an hour.

During the climb he tried to fix the Nepalese flags and prayer flags to the building but they failed to stay attached.

Before setting off he said that his thoughts were with mountaineers stranded at the Everest base camp, where many people died in avalanches set off by the quake.

Robert has climbed more than 130 structures all over the world, never using ropes or safety equipment.

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