The scale of the destruction in Kathmandu is becoming clearer tonight. There are new images, stories of heroic rescues, and accounts of those lucky to have escaped, including some Ottawa residents.
"I'm lucky to be okay." That's the short message Faye Kennedy was able to send to her family, but two Ottawa families are still waiting to hear word from their loved ones.
For two agonizing days, Faye Kennedy's family had no idea whether the 32-year-old Ottawa woman was alive or dead. Then, a message from her.
‘We received a one line email from her earlier today,’ said Justin Piché, Kennedy’s brother-in-law, ‘saying she was incredibly lucky to be alive.’
Alive, along with her two friends. They were trekking a popular hiking route in the Langtang Valley when the quake hit. Kennedy was injured and airlifted to Kathmandu .
‘We don't know what's wrong with her or her injuries will even permit her to fly at this point,’ said Piché, near tears.
Another Ottawa family waits for word. Sam Caldbick, of Ottawa, and Cody Walter, from Sudbury are still missing. They too were hiking the Langtang Valley.
‘It’s, ah, it’s been a nightmare,’ Abha Satyal, Caldbick’s wife, ‘It doesn’t really sink in.’
The devastation is shocking. Thousands dead, thousands more injured. For Ottawa's Nepalese community, utter shock. About 100 families live in the Ottawa area.
‘It’s very hard time, very hard time,’ says Krishna Gautam, the head of the Nepalese Community in Ottawa. Gautam still has two brothers and in-laws in Kathmandu. He says his family is safe but he knows thousands more are not.
‘Our parents are there, our families are there, our children are there, it's not easy you know.’
And there are more bodies on Everest after avalanches buried hikers. Ottawa filmmaker Elia Saikaly, who is at Everest Base Camp said 30 climbers were rescued today. He feels lucky to be alive.
‘There’s no reason why we were so fortunate,’ he said in a telephone conversation from the Everest Base Camp , ‘We were at right place at right time on the right side of base camp. Had we been on the central part of base camp, I wouldn't be alive right now talking to you.’
Our own Leanne Cusack says the extent of the devastation is beyond words . Their charity trek with Dream Mountains Foundation to the Everest Base Camp has been cancelled.
‘Before we knew the details, there was a thought it would be better to get out of Kathmandu and spend 8 days trekking to base camp,’ Leanne said in a phone conversation, ‘but after all the aftershocks, and avalanches, those plans changed.’
The focus now, for Leanne, her group and for Faye Kennedy's family is to get them home. How and when that will happen, no one yet knows.
