Nepal earthquake: Eight New Zealanders still unaccounted for

Assistant Chief of Staff·NZME.·

29 Apr, 2015 07:50 AM3 mins to read

A woman sits outside the ruins of her home in a suburb of Ghorka city, 30km from the quake's epicentre. Photo / Nabin Baral, World Vision

Eight New Zealanders are still unaccounted for in Nepal, four days after the devastating earthquake which has wreaked havoc across large swathes of the country.

The official death toll from the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake which shook the region on Saturday has soared past 4300, with more than 8000 people injured.

Among those to witness the quake were a number of New Zealanders, more than a dozen of whom were originally listed as unaccounted for.

All but eight are now accounted for, as the anxious wait for worried family and friends back home nears a fifth day.

The parents of Philip Power, 38, from Auckland, spoke of their enormous relief after receiving news overnight that he was safe.

"At 3am we had a phone call from our son in Liverpool, England, and Philip had sent him a text to say, 'I'm okay, but departure will be delayed'," his father Farry Power said.

The family had gone from crying yesterday, to relief that he had been in contact, he said.

Philip Power has been trekking in Nepal since early March, and was due home at the beginning of May.

He was scheduled to leave the Everest Base Camp two days before the earthquake, and make his way to Lobuche and then Gokyo Ridge.

However, his family have not heard any details about where he was when the earthquake struck, or what he experienced at the time.

"He'll be alright, he says he's okay. As far as we know he'll be all in one piece. I'm sure he would have told us if he'd had an accident," Mr Power said.

His scheduled flight from Kathmandu may be delayed, but his father said "that won't matter".

"As long as he's survived that's all that matters. A lot of others haven't."

Philip's mum Patricia said the family was "over the moon" that he was safe.

A phone call from him this afternoon had been "wonderful", she said.

"Such a relief. But the reception was poor as you can imagine ... We actually got cut off part-way through, the reception is so bad.

"But at least we could hear his voice."

She added: "The relief is just incredible."

Meanwhile, Marie Grant was yet to hear from her son Doug Sealy, 31, who was due to be in Kathmandu over the weekend. She had contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade this morning, but there had been no news.

Mr Sealy was passing through the area to renew his visa, and was meeting his girlfriend at the border Nepal-India border.

According to the Red Cross, another seven New Zealanders have yet to make contact with family.

Late last night, stuff.co.nz reported that Glenniss Marjorie Pallier, 62, of Piopio, who was previously unaccounted for, had called friends to say she was safe.

Unaccounted for
• Alicia Rae Scroggins, 21, Christchurch.

• William Seymour-Jones, 25, Wellington.

• Doug Sealy, 31.

• Peter "Pete" Donald McLeod, 62, Taupo.

• Charmaine "Chataki" Wilson, 56, Wellington.

• Francis "France" Nigel Comber, 38, Greymouth.

• Joshua Dane Kenyon, 34, Wellington.

• Sonya Joan Mclennan, 62, Pukekohe.

Reported safe:
• Aubrey 'Misery' Tai, 31, Murupara.

• Bevin Watt, 70.

• Bradley 'Brad' James Robson, 33, Taupo.

• Brendan Mark Reeves, 30 Dunedin.