100 Irish caught up in Nepal quake; Nepalese asking to raise funds in Ireland
One hundred Irish people are believed to have been caught up in the Nepal earthquake and the Department of Foreign Affairs says contact is being made with many of the people affected.
One of them is Paul Devaney from Longford, and his brother Colm says Paul is safe but they do not know when he will be able to get home.
Colm said: "The aftershock did occur and cause another avalanche, I can't say for sure if there was a series of them and it's unclear as to what effect they've had on the rescue efforts and on the mountain itself.
"The fact that he has spoken directly with members of the family has given a great deal of reassurance.
"We know where he is at the moment, he is safe, there is concern naturally."
NO rescue/relief operations in remote mountain villages yet!SEND SMALL HELICOPTERS WITH RELIEF MATERIALS IMMEDIATELY pic.twitter.com/fl8xkHGsVu
— Baburam Bhattarai (@brb1954) April 27, 2015
Médecins Sans Frontières is just one of the agencies sending medical and non-medical teams to the region.
Their Director Jane Anne McKenna said: "We know that it is very cold there at night, there is a number of people living out in the open.
"Of course, there is the immediate medical need, but there is also other humanitarian needs now coming to the fore, such as water and sanitation, blankets and non-food items that are required to fight the sheer devastation and the impact that it is having on such a wide number of people."
Efforts to dig victims out from under the rubble of collapsed buildings are continuing following the deadly earthquake in Nepal on Saturday.
The death toll is continuing to rise and has now passed 3,200.
Children getting ready to sleep outside for the night #NepalEarthquake @MRKENJIKWOK #NepalQuakeRelief @nepalitimes pic.twitter.com/RXC0r3MpSR
— Anjana Rajbhandary (@AnjyRajy) April 27, 2015
Up to 3,000 Nepalese natives living in Ireland are joining forces to raise money for the relief effort following the earthquake.
Today they are seeking permission from the Government to take to the streets to fundraise.
Prakash Shrestha, the General Secretary of the Non-Resident Nepali Association in Ireland, said: "So all the Nepalese society here is gathering to collect the funds, we want to collect as much as we can from our community and from the Irish community."
