Australians use social media to find those unaccounted for after Nepal quake

Australians including actor Hugh Sheridan have posted pleas over social media for information about relatives missing in Nepal.

nepal

Zachary Sheridan (left) is one of the Australians unaccounted for since the Nepal earthquake. (Facebook)

Hundreds of Australians are still unaccounted for after the devastating earthquake in Nepal that has claimed more than 2500 lives.

Since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit on Saturday, families have been putting the names of missing loved ones on The Red Cross's Family Links website.

On Sunday morning, there were more than a dozen Australians on the list.

Among them was Perth woman Ballantyne Paige Forder, who is believed to have been working in an orphanage in Kathmandu at the time of the quake.

Her Tasmanian-based sister Amanda-Sue Markham said the family feared for her safety but on Sunday she tweeted that they had finally made contact.
Australian actor Hugh Sheridan is also pleading for information about his 20-year-old brother Zachary.
"Please. Anyone who is awake, please pray for my little brother Zachary who is on Mt Everest," he tweeted.

"I'd appreciate every prayer you have spare."
Other people from Melbourne, Brisbane, South Australia and Tasmania are also on the Red Cross list.
 
Ballarat teenager Darcy Mahady was on his way to a music festival about 240 kms from Kathmandu when the earthquake hit, The Age reports. He remains unaccounted for.
 
A family of four from Daylesford, Victoria, are also reportedly missing. Francis and Jen Comber were travelling in Nepal with daughters Rani, 7, and Neve, 8, when the earthquake hit.  Mr Comber's mother said the family had been trekking in the earthquake area.
 
"No one's heard anything from them yet," she said.
Aid agencies including Oxfam are already sending teams to Nepal to help in the aftermath of the country's deadliest earthquake in more than 80 years.

Oxfam Australia chief executive Helen Szoke says a group of disaster specialists from the UK is flying in with supplies.

"People are gathered in their thousands in open spaces and are scared, as there were several aftershocks," Dr Szoke said in a statement.

"Oxfam staff in Nepal, along with thousands of others, are sleeping outside tonight in football fields and other open spaces because they are the safest place to be."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is yet to release a statement about any Australians who might have been caught up in the disaster.

The federal opposition has called on the Abbott government to offer every assistance towards the recovery effort in Nepal.

"Labor has asked the government for urgent advice about the safety of Australians reported to have been in the area at the time," Opposition foreign spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said in a statement on Sunday.

New Zealand says it stands ready to assist with financial and practical help, after authorities confirmed that about 100 Kiwis in Nepal are safe and efforts to contact others continue.

Register missing relatives and friends

Register people who are missing and believed to be in the area at the time of the earthquake with the International Red Cross Family Links site.
Other ways to check-in with those feared affected by the Nepal earthquake

Facebook has an option to check-in with people who have shown on Facebook they are in the region.
Google has also created a 'person finder' page for the 2015 Nepal Earthquake here.

If you are worried about someone in Nepal, call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24-hour emergency line on 1300 555 135 within Australia (+61 2 6261 3305 from overseas).


Share

4 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world