Australian tourist feared dead in Nepal quake
An international effort is ongoing to find NSW man Tyronne White, who is still missing in a devastated area of Nepal, as authorities voiced “grave concern” for the adventure traveller.
Aerial and satellite footage shows devastation in the region. BBC news has shown helicopter footage from the village, a single house remains standing after a two-metre wall of ice swept through the tourist hotspot.
One distraught villager said he lost “everything”, including his mother.
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Mr White’s family has been frustrated by the lack of communication from Australian authorities.
The Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs has come under fire from the missing man’s brother, Brett White.
Brett said DFAT had offered “nothing useful” on Tuesday after he suggested going to Nepal to look for Tyronne.
“They sent us a response back and it wasn’t very uplifting,” he said.
“We keep searching for ideas about who can help us in any way and calling everyone I can even think of, including Nepalese people over there.”
He said DFAT offered emergency accommodation, some supplies and a list of phone numbers where he might be able to get transport.
“It seems other countries are doing more for their people,” Brett said.
“If it was themselves actually in trouble, how would they deal with it?.”
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Friday that “all known Australians in Nepal had been accounted for” when Tyronne White was known to be missing, as the New Daily reported on Saturday.
Tyronne White, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
Brett says he still holds hope that his brother is trapped in another village in the area like Kyanjin Ghompa or at Yala Peak, out of the way of the devastation. “He could be trapped there.”
“It’s just disappointing…I didn’t even receive any message from DFAT,” Brett said.
“No one’s told me anything. I’ve just been watching the TV and searching the internet 24/7.”
The grim task of identifying the bodies found in the rubble of Langtang Village in Nepal follows the find of 100 trekkers, guides and villagers on Sunday.
Among the 100 dead found in the village were seven foreigners – two have been identified.
Mr White was last seen in the area two days before the quake on April 23, according to reports from a Colombian traveller.
Unofficial accounts from people in the region state 67 foreigners and Nepalese were known to be missing in the Langtang area, Mr White is the only Australian listed.
A team of Australian officials are on the way to the Langtang area and will boost the Australian contingent of two currently there.
“We have deployed a team of Australian officials to travel to Langtang village, Mr White’s last known location, to supplement the two Australian officials already in the region,” a DFAT spokeswoman said.
She said Australia was combining efforts with five other countries including the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and Nepal “to confirm the welfare of the Australian man”.
“DFAT is gravely concerned for the welfare of an Australian who is currently unaccounted for in Nepal,” she said.
Rescue teams estimated another 120 people could be buried under the rock but it could be weeks before they’re all found, BBC reported.
Nepal’s government has recalled its search teams and has left its relief workers in the region, the ABC reported.
Nepalese authorities have announced 7365 confirmed dead and nearly 14,500 injured after the 7.8 magnitude quake shook the nation at noon on April 25.