At least 900 dead in Nepal, per most recent update
Cimbers on Mount Everest ran for their lives on Saturday when a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal and set off at least one deadly avalanche.
Jelle Veyt was just getting back to base camp when suddenly the earth "shook for a couple of seconds — badly," the Belgian climber told NBC News.
A sherpa just a few feet ahead turned and pointed behind him, Veyt recalled, saying he then turned around himself and saw a "huge cloud of snow" heading his way.
"I started running for my life....trying to be in a tent before it hit me," he said, telling NBC News he wasn't thinking about "much" other than running "as fast as I could to the tents" which were only about 200 feet away.
Before he could reach the tents Veyt said he felt a "huge blow."
"It felt like a wind in the back but more powerful," he said. Then, he said, he was "just surrounded by snow then. I couldn't see my own hands."
more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nepal-earthquake-triggers-deadly-mount-everest-avalanche-n348241
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, killing hundreds, destroying homes and ancient temples, and triggering at least one avalanche on Mount Everest.
At least 597 people have been killed, said Minendra Rija, the country's minister of information and communications. "That number may rise," he cautioned.
The quake struck just before noon local time (2:15 a.m. ET) about 50 miles from the capital of Kathmandu and is the worst to hit the Himalayan nation in nearly a century. Some 30 people died in neighboring countries where the quake was felt, including 20 in India, The Associated Press reported.
more http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nepal-earthquake-magnitude-7-9-tremor-hits-kathmandu-n348236
major suckage
Cimbers on Mount Everest ran for their lives on Saturday when a massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal and set off at least one deadly avalanche.
Jelle Veyt was just getting back to base camp when suddenly the earth "shook for a couple of seconds — badly," the Belgian climber told NBC News.
A sherpa just a few feet ahead turned and pointed behind him, Veyt recalled, saying he then turned around himself and saw a "huge cloud of snow" heading his way.
"I started running for my life....trying to be in a tent before it hit me," he said, telling NBC News he wasn't thinking about "much" other than running "as fast as I could to the tents" which were only about 200 feet away.
Before he could reach the tents Veyt said he felt a "huge blow."
"It felt like a wind in the back but more powerful," he said. Then, he said, he was "just surrounded by snow then. I couldn't see my own hands."
more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nepal-earthquake-triggers-deadly-mount-everest-avalanche-n348241
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, killing hundreds, destroying homes and ancient temples, and triggering at least one avalanche on Mount Everest.
At least 597 people have been killed, said Minendra Rija, the country's minister of information and communications. "That number may rise," he cautioned.
The quake struck just before noon local time (2:15 a.m. ET) about 50 miles from the capital of Kathmandu and is the worst to hit the Himalayan nation in nearly a century. Some 30 people died in neighboring countries where the quake was felt, including 20 in India, The Associated Press reported.
more http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/nepal-earthquake-magnitude-7-9-tremor-hits-kathmandu-n348236
major suckage