Nepal earthquake: Hundreds of Britons caught up in tragedy as death toll soars to 2,500

AT LEAST 17 climbers have been killed on Mount Everest after a series of avalanches sparked by a huge earthquake buried the mountain's base camp under a torrent of snow and ice - as the total death toll from the disaster soared.

Nepal earthquakeAP • REUTERS • EPA

The death toll has now soared to 2,300

An enormous tremor in Nepal has now claimed more than 2,500 lives across the Himalayan country, according to local officials, with rescue efforts being hampered by a series of powerful aftershocks this morning.  

At least 70 British nationals are still missing, with many of those feared dead.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tonight confirmed "around 200" Britons caught up in the tragedy in Nepal were receiving embassy help.

But he said that there were so far no UK citizens confirmed among the dead or injured.

"We expect that almost certainly some will have been caught up in the earthquakes. 

"But at this moment we have no reports of any British nationals killed or injured.

“British Embassy staff are on the ground and have provided practical help to around 200 British nationals. 

"Teams of consular staff have also been out scouring hospitals, hotels and areas popular with tourists looking for British nationals who may need assistance."

Rescue efforts are intensifying as volunteers and experts rush to the country to help, after the quake struck just before midday yesterday, sending tremors through the Kathmandu Valley and the nearby city of Pokhara.

The majority of fatalities have been reported in Nepal, with deaths also being confirmed in India, Tibet, Bangladesh and the Nepal-China border.

Makeshift crematoriums sprung up across the country today as the bodies continued to pile up, with the scale of the disaster so great that local morgues are said to be stretched beyond breaking point. 

Millions of pounds has already been pledged by governments and charities the world over, but journalists on the ground have reported precious few signs of a co-ordinated search and rescue response as the country threatens to teeter into chaos. 

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Google Executive Dan Fredinburg was the first casualty confirmed on the mountain

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Mr Fredinburg, 33, was an experienced climber who photographed the world's highest peaks

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Dr Marisa Eve Girawong was also killed when an avalanche ripped through basecamp

There is a lot of confusion on the mountain. The toll will rise

Disaster survivor Gelu Sherpa

Among the Everest mountaineers feared dead is a 33-year-old Google executive and a doctor who worked at the mountain's famous basecamp.  

Reports emerged today that 17 bodies have been recovered from Everest by rescue teams, while 15 injured climbers and sherpa guides have been airlifted to nearby hospitals. 

Hundreds more people are believed to be stranded on climbing trails across the Himalayas, with official estimates stating that there may have been more than 1,000 climbers on Everest alone when the disaster struck. 

The first confirmed fatality on the mountain was American Google executive Dan Fredinburg, a victim of the deadliest day in Mount Everest's history. 

Also among the dead was 29-year-old doctor Marisa Eve Girawong, who worked as a medic at Everest's base camp and was crushed by a torrent of snow and ice, which tore down the mountainside. 

In the nation's capital Kathmandu, brave rescuers were today desperately digging down into collapsed buildings with their bare hands because the historic city's streets are too narrow for heavy machinery.  

Hundreds of people are still thought to be trapped helpless under the rubble, but sources in the impoverished Asian state have admitted its Government is "overwhelmed" and in desperate need of international help.  

The huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake has sparked the worst natural disaster Nepal has seen in 81 years and caused the highest death toll ever recorded on Everest in a single day.  

Gelu Sherpa, who miraculously survived the carnage at the 18,000ft altitude base camp, warned that many more bodies are waiting to be discovered under the snow. 

"There is a lot of confusion on the mountain. The toll will rise," he said, his head wrapped in bandages.

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Pictures emerged today of the ruins of Everest's basecamp, which was almost completely flattened

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Large parts of the country's historic capital have been flattened by the huge tremor

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Rescue teams have been digging with their bare hands in a bid to find people trapped in the rubble

Rescue teams working on the mountain were put in mortal danger today after a strong aftershock sparked fresh avalanches on the already unstable slopes. 

The aftershock measured at 6.7 on the Richter Scale and was so strong that tremors were felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi, where underground services had to be temporarily halted. 

British climber Daniel Mazur, from Bristol, who was trapped at the advance base on Everest, posted on Twitter: "A massive earthquake just hit Everest. Basecamp has been severely damaged. Our team is caught in camp 1. Please pray for everyone."

Tributes today began to flood in for some of the dead adventurers, many of whom were experienced mountaineers. 

American Dr Girawong, a veteran climber who had scaled some of the country's highest peaks, worked as a doctor on Mount Everest specialising in treating trauma injuries. 

Her employers, Seattle-based climbing firm Madison Mountaineering, today said that they were "heartbroken" by her death. 

In a statement the company said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with Eve and her family and friends." 

Mr Fredinburg was part of a team of intrepid Google executives taking on the world's highest peak. The rest of his team sustained non life-threatening injuries.

As a 'Google Adventurer', he used to photograph the world's highest mountains for Google Maps and was also head of privacy for the company's cutting edge development lab, Google X. 

His former girlfriend Sophia Bush today paid tribute to "one of the great loves of my life" and said he was "one of a kind".

She said: "There are no adequate words. Today I find myself attempting to pick up the pieces of my heart that have broken into such tiny shards, I'll likely never find them all.

"Today I, and so many of my loved ones, lost an incredible friend. Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world."

SPLASH NEWS

Actress Sophia Bush with her Ex-Boyfriend Dan Fredinburg, at the Do Something Awards in 2013

There are no adequate words. Today I find myself attempting to pick up the pieces of my heart that have broken into such tiny shards, I'll likely never find them all. Today I, and so many of my loved ones, lost an incredible friend. Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world. His brain knew how to build it. His heart was constantly evolving to push himself to make it so. He was one of my favorite human beings on Earth. He was one of the great loves of my life. He was one of my truest friends. He was an incredible brother, a brilliant engineer, and a damn good man. I'm devastated and simultaneously so deeply grateful to have known and loved him, and to have counted him as one of my tribe. I was so looking forward to our planned download of "all the things" when he got home. I am crushed that I will never hear that story. I am crushed knowing that there are over 1,000 people in Nepal suffering this exact feeling, knowing that they too will never hear another tale about an adventure lived from someone that they love. Disasters like this are often unquantifiable, the enormity is too much to understand. Please remember that each person who is now gone was someone's Dan. Please remember that our time on this Earth is not guaranteed. Please tell those you love that you do. Right now. This very minute. And please send a kiss to the sky for my friend Dan. His energy is so big and so bright, and it's all around us, so put some love toward him today. And then hug your loved ones again. #goodbyesweetfriend #savetheice #Nepal

A photo posted by Sophia Bush (@sophiabush) on

Confirmation of their deaths came as scores of British volunteers and aid workers began to arrive in the tiny central Asian state to help with the relief effort. 

Relief agencies reported that hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley were overflowing and fast running out of medical supplies despite assistance from neighbouring India and China. 

Peter Olyle from Save the Children said hospitals were running out of storage room for bodies and emergency supplies. 

"There is a need for a government decision on bringing in kits from the military," he said.

Rescuers said the situation was likely to worsen with scores more bodies discovered every hour across the country. 

"Tragically, more bodies are being pulled from collapsed buildings every hour. Communication is down in many areas. Widespread destruction, rubble and landslides are preventing access to provide aid in many villages," an Australian Red Cross statement said.

Widespread electricity outages and a desperate shortage of medical supplies have also made the rescue operation almost impossibly difficult in some areas.  

"Hospitals were evacuated with patients being treated on the ground outside, homes and buildings demolished and some roads cracked wide open," said Eleanor Trinchera, Caritas Australia programme coordinator for Nepal, who was an hour outside the capital when the quake struck.

The Department for International Development has pledged £5million in aid. 

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A woman walks past a ruined temple in Nepal's capital Kathmandu

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Rescuers and survivors have been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster

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The first aid supplies from neighbouring India and China were being flown into Nepal today

Meanwhile, there was a nervous wait for families back in the UK who have not heard from their loved ones since the quake struck. 

Among those missing is Sebastian Lovera, a 22-year-old qualified skiing and diving instructor, from Tonbridge, Kent, who was last seen heading towards Everest basecamp. 

His stepfather, Greg Smye-Rumsby, said: "Sebastian is an extremely lively and self-motivating person and that is why he went to Nepal.

"We haven't heard from him. He would not have switched his phone off. We have tried ringing it. Sometimes it rings and sometimes we get an answer but it's an automated answer. It says the phone is switched off.

"He's certainly not a person to take risks. He's the absolute opposite."

Another Briton feared missing is 23-year-old Laura Wood from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

She was described by a friend as a "glowing lovely beautiful young girl often dressed in hippy type clothing".

Nervously waiting for news today is John Carroll from Boxford, Suffolk, whose 22-year-old daughter Julia is also missing. 

He told the Sunday Telegraph: "I spoke to her on the phone on Friday afternoon when she rang home to wish me a happy birthday. We are desperately worried.

"It's a tragic situation out there, with so many deaths and so much destruction and we can only hope she is safe and gets in touch."

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