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Updated 15.40pm
TEN IRISH CITIZENS on the Department of Foreign Affair’s list of concern in Nepal have yet to make contact with home.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan said the Consular Response Team in the Department is tracking the cases of some 150 Irish citizens who were believed to have been in Nepal at the time of the earthquake.
However, the vast majority of these citizens have now been accounted for and are safe and well.
Remote areas
Speaking today about the ten citizens who are unaccounted for, the minister said some may be in remote areas “where communications would be sporadic at the best of times”.
“It is taking time to formally account for all Irish citizens. There are no suggestions at this stage of any Irish fatalities. One Irish citizen has been injured but is stable, and is due to be medevac’d when flight clearance permits.”
He said the Consular Response Team will continue to work actively with the Embassy in New Delhi to trace everyone as soon as possible.
“Of the other citizens on our list, some have already left the area, and others have booked flights out over the next few days.
The minister said officials are coordinating closely with EU colleagues, including those with Embassies on the ground.
Commercial flights are operating out of Kathmandu so, in common with our EU partners, we are advising citizens who wish to leave to make arrangements to do so by commercial means.”
Red Cross list
The names of five Irish people who are still yet to contact home in the wake of the Nepal earthquake remain on the Red Cross website.
The names Irish tourists or travellers have been posted using the charity’s ‘missing persons’ facility.
The website allows relatives to register a person’s details online.
Once they can get online themselves, the person listed can tick an ‘I am alive’ option to let people know they are okay.
The names are:
Alex Murphy (25) Dublin
Thomas Drumm (55) Monaghan
Ciaran Sands (55) Ireland
Niall Kavanagh (54) Dublin
Sam O’Neill (28) Ireland
The Irish Times reports that Paul Greenan (38) who runs a plant hire company in Dublin, was one of two people injured in the avalanche.
It’s believed he was air-lifted off the mountain.
Death toll
A Nepal police official says at least 4,352 bodies have so far been recovered after last week’s massive earthquake that struck just outside of capital Kathmandu.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Komal Singh Bam says 8,063 people have been injured in the magnitude 7.8 quake.
In neighbouring India 61 people were killed and China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported 25 dead in Tibet.
The charity, GOAL, says they expect the death toll to rise to over 10,000 as many have not been recovered from the rubble at this stage.
18 people died following a devastating avalanche on Mount Everest. Helicopters have been evacuating scores of injured climbers and their teams from the area.
Longford climber Paul Devaney made contact via social media in the immediate aftermath of the disaster to let family and friends know he was safe.
There were no reports of any injuries in his international team, a post on Facebook said.
“Base Camp is no longer considered safe due to the possibility of further aftershocks and resulting avalanches.
In the past few hours, the team posted on Facebook that they had been evacuated and were on their way to Pherice via Gorek Shep.
There they will camp for the next 3 days and the groups will formulate a plan to determine the next steps.
This morning Paul walked through the destruction at base camp where the extent of the disaster is beginning to hit hard. He described the past 48 hours as harrowing for all involved with the added terror of further tremors and avalanches taking hold over all those at camp since the quake.It is a heartbreaking situation to see yet another tragedy strike the mountain and those who climb her.As Paul’s camp was just 50 metres from the blast zone, he is very much cognisant that he and his crew are extremely fortunate to be able to tell the tale while so many others were not and thoughts continue to be with the families and loved ones of all those lost as well as those who have suffered injury during the disaster.
Watch: Video captures terrifying moment when avalanche hit Everest base camp >
Supplies needed
The latest updates from Nepal say that army troops are loading blue tarpaulin sheets, medical kits and dehydrated food, water bottles, sacks of rice and blankets at a flat area that is being used as a helipad in Gorkha town.
Gorkha district was the epicenter of Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake that has killed more than 4,400 people.
With the weather clearing it seems that for now helicopters will be able to pick up the supplies and relay to smaller villages.
The weather has been erratic over the last two days — there has been some rain and cloud cover making it difficult for helicopters to land in some areas close to the epicenter.
District official Surya Mohan Adhikari says the supplies will be sent out later in the day to villages that need them most.
He said that in the rural areas 90 percent of the people have been affected “by this calamity. They have lost their homes and livestock. They have no way of getting food.”
He says it is very difficult to reach them. They are cut off by landslides on the mountain roads, and the wind and rain is making it difficult for helicopters to land.
First published 07.30am. Additional reporting Associated Press
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They should bring back the Back to Education grant
Plus a million there
FF to abstain on budget vote will need Lowry to get it through ! Now is John Deasy chance to get rid of Kenny vote against general election quick ??
Heard him during the week saying he won’t vote against it
I’m comfortable earning a middle income please leave it like that and give the money to those struggling. To much vote wanting here
Pension in 2007 budget €209. It will probably be nearly €239 by 2017. While I don’t begrudge anyone that worked hard all their life a pleasant retirement I can assure you I’m no where near €30 better off.
FG re alignment where they look at the number of years.you contributed for will keep this in check. Wrongly if course as those who never worked won’t be impacted
@lavbeer: We should have the same system as America where your pension is based on your contributions. In Ireland especially for females who take time out to have children but work the rest of their lives could end up getting less than someone who decides not to work – how can that be fair. The difference between contributory and non contributory is a joke.
Here a question I don’t know the answer to. My mother worked in the civil service in the early 70′s. After she got married she like thousands of other women was forced to give up her job. Not only did she loose her civil service pension but her old age pension is cut too as a result. Has anyone ever taken the government to task over this matter?
I lost you when you said same system as America. They are not a social stage and I’m proud to say we offer all citizens a basic life at the very least. And I’m happy to pay my tax towards that.
I think she might have gotten a marriage gratuity, how that affects old age pension I don’t know.
Totally agree with you. The two groups that suffered least during the recession and whose actual spending power increased due to the cost reductions and deflation. Maybe we could actually stop buying votes and adjust things for the future? With only 40% or so of people paying all the income tax in this country, it is time to widen the tax Base and to give something back to those that have shouldered the burden of the recession, people with jobs that are paying tax!
Am I reading that right, social welfare is increasing for recipients by €20 a week? As a “squeezed middle” family, looks like we’d be lucky to see an increase of €20 a month. Yes, we might have more incoming than those on social welfare, but my outgoings are enormous. The costs of working, commuting, childcare in our joint income household leaves nothing at the end of each month. I would love €20 extra a week to spend on entertainment or a meal out, after a tough week working. Lucky them. Sure they probably need it more than we do after their tough week.
You read it wrong.
That was the 2007 budget
@CazzoA: this is about a FF budget in 2007, wait til tuesday for this decades one.
Ah, I should read properly and jump off the soapbox. Will save my ranting for budget day. A nice chunk off USC and some childcare tax credits would do nicely.
And an equivalent for those of us without children.
Wish they wouldn’t touch tax and improve healthcare system.
I’d say your disposable income could be less than someone on social welfare as you no doubt have bills to pay like insurance, medical and mortgage, etc…
You didn’t read it at all…instead jumped straight to the comments section
Budget 2007 bought the election nothing else.
Brisn Clown should be in jail for selling us down the river. This useless character should have his pension taken away, we keep rewarding failure handsomely in Ireland. This has got to stop.
So let me get this straight, earning <€4,004 is 0% ,BUT €0 – €10,036 has a 2% charge. Hope the poor hoors in the lowest bracket have a box to tick!
Well spotted. But shur this country in all about box ticking and loopholes!!!
@TractorPat:
You do realise that they are the 2011 figures, don’t you?
That gif had given me an overwhelming urge to watch Wayne’s world once again.
Let’s make sure our politicians get their €125 pw rise and leave the pensioners carers etc. wait until next year to get their paltry (not modest) €5
Should bring back health levy for dental & optical we pay enough tax & prsi to at least get something out of it.. I
Cowen on TV the other day, at Bobby Molloy funeral.
Did not look well. But that’s what heavy drinking does.
For all the bad choices he made for the country, he has to escape reality somehow. Has spent his life waiting to have
“a few pints”.
MK.
Buying the Social welfare vote again with a 12 % increase This budget will be a joke just more money for the long term social grabbers. I have no issue with a helping hand but when holidays and cars are bought with social money we pay for …….
have your say