NEPAL DISASTER
As the death toll of an earthquake in Nepal tops 3,200, Americans in the region, including a Scottsdale woman, fight for survival.
Scottsdale resident Haley Ercanbrack is among those stranded on Mount Everest following severe avalanches caused by this weekend’s massive Nepal earthquake and aftershocks.
Ercanbrack is trapped at camp two at an elevation of 21,000 feet, according to her friend, Pamela Hobbs of Scottsdale.
Earthquake-triggered avalanches roared down the world’s tallest peak, killing at least 18 people and trapping several others, including Ercanbrack, who is on the mountain with Madison Mountaineering, a Seattle-based expedition group.
Team members at camp two and Gorak Shep, a small mountaineering village about two hours from base camp, are all safe, but they are rapidly running out of food and fuel, according to Madison’s website, which has provided updates, audio from a satellite phone call and a list of team members and their locations.
Any routes down to the lower camps were destroyed by the avalanche, and the only hope of evacuation is a helicopter rescue, the website said.
The team’s physician-assistant, Marisa Eve Girawong, was at base camp when an avalanche hit and was critically injured, the website said. She later died of her injuries.
Other Arizonans have joined a large-scale international rescue and relief effort in the wake of Saturday’s powerful 7.8-magnitude Nepal earthquake that has killed more than 3,200 people, injured thousands and severely disrupted the region.
A retired Pinetop couple prepared Sunday to leave for the country’s capital, Kathmandu, to help establish communications systems. Glen and Julie Bradley are telecommunications experts who have volunteered with the Red Cross since the days after Hurricane Katrina, when their experience as aid recipients inspired them to volunteer for the agency.
Once they arrive, the Bradleys will be part of a small international team in charge of establishing satellite connections for radio towers and Internet access.