Dubai: What was meant to be an exhilarating adventure to the Everest Base Camp, had turned into a nightmare for an Emirati political science professor.
Speaking to Gulf News from Nepal, Dr Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, also a columnist with Gulf News since 2005, said yesterday he was one of the lucky trekkers who survived the massive earthquake-triggered avalanche that swept through the Mount Everest base camp on Saturday. “There is no safe place in Nepal right now. This was not the trekking we had in mind, but it was all pure luck to survive all this. People from different nationalities are trapped here, but my heart goes for the people of Nepal. We saw massive destruction in extremely poor areas,” Dr Abdulla said.
His comments came as at least 22 people, including a Google executive, died and 61 others were injured in the massive avalanches. Daniel Fredinburg, a self-described “adventurer/engineer” with Google’s privacy team, died of a head injury on Mount Everest, his sister wrote on Instagram.
Running for safety
The tragedy comes barely a year after the death of 16 Sherpa guides in an avalanche that had been the worst disaster in Everest’s history.
Dr Abdulla explained how towards the end of his trekking on Saturday, following six hours of very steep ascent, he experienced the scariest moments of his life. “It literally shook the formidable Himalayas. It was going right and left beneath our foot,” he said.
Running for safety, Dr Abdulla said he suddenly heard a huge noise above him. “We thought it was a thunder because it was raining, but we then realised it was an avalanche. We had to run for our lives... The avalanche lasted for some 20 minutes,” he said.
Dr Abdulla said following the first earthquake, “there were aftershocks every 15 minutes for some four hours.”
“We started to hear screams from the Namshi town, which is about 2.4km away. Some were running towards us for safety. We were told to stay where we were and not go towards the city, because they expected more quakes.”
Dr Abdulla said he felt very lucky to get a call from Shaikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, enquiring about his safety.
“It’s sad that this trip to the Himalayas had to end this way, but there is always a second time to reach the Everest. I’m mostly thinking about the people of Nepal. I feel sorry for putting my family and friends through this, as they are very concerned about me.”
“Right now I’m working on the details of getting back home in the UAE. It is hectic for everybody, but I should be home soon.”
