Dubai: There was no contact on Sunday with six Dubai friends holidaying in Nepal where a powerful earthquake on Saturday killed more than 2,000 people.
Family and friends in the UAE were unable to establish contact since Saturday morning, hours before the quake struck.
The all-male group of Indians, in their 20s, had gone to The Last Resort adventure getaway, 100km east of the capital Kathmandu on the road to bordering Tibet. The 7.8 magnitude quake hit central Nepal between Kathmandu and Pokhara city, causing widespread destruction and death. There were also deadly avalanches, including those on the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest in Nepal.
Thanzeem Rather, a sister of Thanweer, one of the friends, said the Resort’s manager told her sister’s friend all guests and staff were relocated to a nearby village that is safe.
“The manager confirmed there was an all-men group of six Indians from Dubai with them and they’re all OK. We’re just trying to get in touch again to double-check it’s the same group. But his phone’s not working now,” she said on Sunday evening.
“I’ve created a WhatsApp group for all six families to stay in touch and stay updated on any changes.”
Meanwhile Chandrasen Gandhi said he last heard from his son Sunil early Saturday morning.
Communication lines and roads have been badly hit, making it hard to get updates or reach the capital.
Gandhi said he has tried inquiring at the Indian embassy, emergency control rooms and families of his son’s friends in the group.
“I’ve done all that, we’re all on the same page. The area they had gone to is still safe. But communications is down, the roads are blocked, there were avalanches. It’s hard to get a flight back,” Gandhi said.
“Everyone’s doing their bit to get in touch or find information. I heard there was a mention of this on an [Indian] news channel.”
The group landed in Nepal on Friday and had used WhatsApp to stay in touch.
“Sunil’s WhatsApp is not responding. He doesn’t have an active roaming [mobile] number. I think the phone company there is down,” said Gandhi.
He said that all six are friends aged 23 and 26, with jobs in Dubai. Sunil works in finance.
On Sunday, rescue and relief efforts were scaled up to cope with the aftermath of the disaster. Aid has started to enter the mountainous landlocked country.
The same day, a strong 6.7 magnitude aftershock could be felt thousands of miles away as far as India and Bangladesh, terrifying residents in Nepalese capital, where over 700 lives were lost.
In Saturday’s quake, deaths were also reported in India, Bangladesh and Tibet, which all border Nepal.
It is the worst quake to hit Nepal after one in 1934 killed around 8,500 people.
