B.C. travellers in Nepal struggling after earthquake
At least three B.C. men in their 20s in Nepal are struggling to cope after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the country, killing about 2,500 people.
They are among the hundreds of Canadian citizens that were in the country at the time of the earthquake according to the federal government.
Surrey resident Carson Smith managed to get word to his parents in B.C. about six hours after the quake struck.
Smith, 23, had been travelling with two friends since September and they had just landed in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu when the shaking began.
The first his family knew there had been an earthquake was a text message at 5 a.m. PT Saturday morning from a friend.
"It said, 'Hi Kim, heard there was an earthquake in Nepal. Hope Carson and his friends weren't there yet,'" said Carson's mother, Kim Smith.
Smith did not know her son's itinerary and was unable to reach him, but her initial anxiety didn't last long when she received a message an hour-and-a-half later that both he and his friends were alive.
Shortly after that Carson called.
"It [the phone] was breaking up," she said. "But he said we're okay, it's crazy here."
Kim Smith says at that point she was relieved and grateful just to know Carson and his friends were alive.
Since hearing from her son, Smith has been trying to send him information, but she is not sure any of it is getting through. Now she's getting anxious again wondering how her son will get out of the region.
Canadian consulate no help
"[It's] very stressful, because you feel totally helpless, you know, like what can you do?" she said.
"We've sent them messages saying do not separate, stay together, find somewhere flying a Canadian flag. We've sent them maps, whether or not they've gotten them, or how they can get to the consular office there, at some point if their devices die I don't know how they're going to be in touch."
Shortly after that interview, Smith told CBC News in an email that the Canadian consulate was unable to help them. They wound up at the U.S. consulate in Kathmandu where they were offered food, shelter and Internet access.
She said her son also told her the situation at the Kathmandu airport was mayhem with people struggling to get on departing flights.
While Kim Smith waits for further messages, she says her thoughts are also with all of those people who have lost loved ones or who haven't heard anything yet.
