Nepal earthquake: Kiwi families waiting for news of their loved ones

Lucette Dillon says she will never be able to describe the "pure terror".

Three days after the deadly earthquake that claimed more than 3700 lives, several New Zealand families continue to wait for news of their loved ones.

Marie Grant of Wellington last heard from her 31-year-old son, Doug Sealy, on Friday when he was in India. He was planning to travel to Kathmandu to renew his visa but no one has heard from him since.

Choking back tears, Ms Grant said she was devastated and didn't understand why he hadn't been in touch.

"I'm beside myself. I've just prayed that he's all right."

Auckland mother Lisa Scroggins is also anxiously awaiting to hear from her 21-year-old daughter, Alicia, who was due back in Kathmandu from a trek today. Saturday's quake compromised Nepal's cellphone networks and landlines so contact with the country is patchy. Mrs Scroggins hopes Lisa will be in touch soon.

"We're anxiously waiting but we haven't heard yet," she said last night. "Things being as they are you wouldn't doubt that she might be delayed."

Peter Gibbs, who runs the Nepalese Consulate in New Zealand, said it was still unclear how many New Zealanders were unaccounted for after the earthquake which has now claimed more than 3700 lives and left 6500 injured.

"I had quite a few calls from people yesterday still unsure particularly where their children are," Mr Gibbs said. "Obviously they're very anxious and distressed."

However, Mr Gibbs was also relieved to have taken calls from people who initially thought loved ones were lost but later had their safety confirmed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) has confirmed the wellbeing of at least 180 New Zealanders in Nepal. Many are now trying to make their way home.

Auckland woman Lucette Dillon is hoping to land in New Zealand tomorrow morning after her harrowing experience. She says she will never be able to describe the "pure terror" she experienced in Kathmandu as the 7.8 earthquake violently shook the house she was in.

The 29-year-old was in a three-storey building and could hear families in the floors above "screaming and screaming" as the room shook.

Once she got outside, the street was "just mayhem" with people running out of buildings crying.

Miss Dillon spent a sleepless night under a corrugated-iron shelter as the walls at both ends of the road had collapsed.

She caught a flight out of Kathmandu on Sunday. "So when we actually got in the air, the whole aeroplane cheered and clapped and people just started crying. People were just embracing and crying."

Last night, Miss Dillon was waiting in a Bangkok hotel for her connecting flight to Auckland.

"I will never be able to describe how afraid I was. I couldn't sleep last night - I had to sleep with the lights on. My legs are still shaking."