Nepal earthquake: Foreign Office confirms death of British national in devastating earthquake

 
Devastation: a Nepalese man walking over rubble in the village of Sathighar, north of Katmandu (Picture: Palani Mohan / International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)
Gareth Vipers29 April 2015

A Briton has been killed in the earthquake in Nepal.

The Foreign Office today confirmed the death of a non-resident British citizen.

Officials are also "urgently investigating" reports that another Briton has been killed at Mount Everest base camp.

A UK aid flight carrying 120 Britons has now left the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said. The flight is expected to land at Stansted Airport in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile, Britain is preparing to send RAF Chinook helicopters to Nepal to help with the relief effort.

More than 5,000 people have killed since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday. Nepal's prime minister Sushil Koirala said the death toll could eventually rise to more than 10,000.

Eight million people have been affected by the disaster which has wiped out entire villages, according to the United Nations.

A medical student from Leicester university, American Dr Marisa Eve Girawong, was among those killed in avalanches on Everest.

About 30 British and Irish families are reportedly still waiting for news of their loved ones who may have been in Nepal at the time of the earthquake.

British personnel have arrived in Nepal to help with the overall rescue operation as medical services are at "breaking point".

A team of more than 60 UK international search and rescue responders and specialist rescue dogs have arrived, with some already operating on the ground and travelling out of the capital to more remote areas, the Department for International Development (DfID) said.

The personnel are drawn from 15 fire and rescue services from across the UK, and their capabilities include locating deeply-buried victims, constructing timber supports to safely shore up buildings and providing advanced life support.

They were joined by an eight-strong group of expert trauma medics, and more UK medical crews are expected to arrive in the country in the coming days.

Some £19 million has been donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Nepal Earthquake Appeal a day after it was launched.

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