NEPAL’S prime minister, Sushil Koirala, has warned that the number of people killed in the country’s worst earthquake in decades could reach 10 000, while the UN has estimated that eight million people have been hit by the disaster. One of those affected is eMdloti adventurer, Sean Wisedale, who was at the Mount Everest base camp when powerful shockwaves hit.

“We are currently out of base camp, reflecting on what we have just survived. Our plans are not certain. Right now we are safe.  We believe that the region has stabilised.  We have little more to offer to assist the dead and injured, most of whom have been evacuated from base camp,” he wrote on his adventure blog earlier today (https://seanwisedale.com/blog/).

Wisedale is with a group of climbers attempting to summit Mount Everest.

When the earthquake struck, Wisedale described the unimaginable terror around the camp.

“A massive ice slab sheared and thundered into base camp. It lifted rocks and boulders ahead of it, slamming into hundreds of tents in the center of the camp and spilling over onto the Khumbu glacier on the other side. 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 weather conditions were bad, then heavy snow began to fall and visibility of the surrounding peaks was nil. Everywhere around us it was unstable. There were at least 13 fatalities, maybe more, another 60 injured. Many have been evacuated from the camp.  We are still operational (by incredible luck) and assisting where we can.  Helicopters have been flying in all day to evacuate the wounded,” he said.