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Joy ends wait for Nepal families

Torsten d'Scarlett

Dorit and Russell d'Scarlett had left Perth and were considering flying to Kathmandu when their teenage son finally got in touch with them to say he had survived the earthquake in Nepal.

Torsten d'Scarlett, 18, was trekking the Annapurna Circuit when the earthquake struck and could not make contact with his family until late last night.

"I was on the trail alone and the ground was shaking and I could hear and see rockfall," he wrote on Facebook.

"It happened again when I was sitting at lunch right beneath a massive mountain.

"We hear screams and the children crying and dashed into the fields away from the cliff. Ran into some poison ivy."

DEATH TOLL

Torsten's parents were in Denpasar when they got the message and were planning to travel to Kuala Lumpur so they could be closer to Nepal.

They were hopeful communication lines would be restored and Torsten would contact them within 72 hours but decided they would fly to Kathmandu if there was no word from him.

Mrs d'Scarlett said social media had come to the family's rescue after a "terrible" few days.

"Torsten alive and well," she said. "We are so relieved he is alive and hope all the other families find their loved ones, too."

Mrs d'Scarlett had been glued to her Facebook page in the hope her son would come across an internet connection and let her know he was all right.

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Perth-born Torsten usually contacts his family on social media every few days to update them on his trip. He travelled to Nepal last month and was expected to fly to Europe next month.

"We have travelled a lot as a family so he is not inexperienced but this is his first solo trip after finishing Year 12," she said.

The couple have lived in Cairns for the past 12 years but often return to WA with Dr d'Scarlett's job as a locum doctor.

He was working in the emergency department at Bunbury Regional Hospital when news of the earthquake started to filter through to WA.


LUKE GRIEVE

WA man Luke Grieve contacted his family from Nepal after Saturday’s earthquake.

The 33-year-old rock climber had been trekking near Mount Everest and was planning to climb a mountain at Ama Dablam.

“He’s still in the area but he’s safe,” Mr Grieve’s aunty Maxine May said last night.

“We were quite relieved when he contacted us. I was panicking.”

Ms May said her nephew sent her a message on Saturday just after the earthquake to let her know he was safe.

It was Mr Grieve’s second time in Nepal and he travelled to the country alone.

“He was with a mountaineering group,” Ms May said.

“He is safe, but has been getting aftershocks.”

Mr Grieve had only been in Nepal a week when the earthquake struck.

“We’re not sure when he’s coming home,” his aunty said.

Luke grew up in Bunbury and has lived in Albany for the past few years.

GREGORY and DONNA KENT

Perth mother Donna Kent and her father Greg were last night believed to be trekking down Mt Everest to safety.

After messaging family and friends about the time the quake struck on Saturday, a tense 24 hours passed before further word came through that the pair were safe and trekking their way back down the mountain. It is understood they had been somewhere between Tengboche and Dingboche.

BROOKE OKEEFE

Shelley Packard is still desperate for a phone call from her daughter but she is confident she’s alive and well.

Brooke Okeefe has spent nearly two years in the region and does not have a mobile phone or wireless device.

Ms Okeefe’s sister Jodie spent two arduous days on Facebook trying to find people who may have seen her sister.

News eventually came through a French Canadian man who is a friend of Ms Okeefe’s.

He told Jodie he had seen her sister and she was fine.

ADAM CLEAVER and KAMISHA SKYE CAMPBELL

A Facebook message and accompanying happy snap brought Adam Cleaver’s mother an overwhelming sense of relief on Sunday night.

Mr Cleaver and his travelling partner Kamisha Skye Campbell were completing a five-day hike of the Annapurna Circuit when the earthquake hit.

His mother Noelene Cleaver said that the pair had felt a tremor but did not realise the seriousness of the situation until they descended from their trek.

When news of Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Nepal began to filter out to the world, concerns were held for Broome woman Shelly Voigt.

SHELLY VOIGHT

The 54-year-old was in Kathmandu, which bore the brunt of the damage, when the 7.8 magnitude quake struck.

After more than a day of worrying, friends and family yesterday breathed a sigh of relief when confirmation emerged she was OK.