Four San Diegans are among a group of mountain climbers trapped in Nepal after a massive earthquake Saturday that killed thousands of people.
The climbers’ dream of tackling Mount Ganchempo turned into a nightmare two days into their hike when the earthquake hit. Kathleen Heldman and her husband Kevin Krough were on a month-long trip with friends Oscar Olea and Brigida Martinez when the earthquake hit.
Heldman was able to call home Sunday on a satellite phone, but the news was not good.
“The food supply, last I heard, was down to about five days’ worth,” Heldman’s sister Sarah told 10News.
An avalanche struck the village below the mountain, leaving villagers with nothing, so the group is now sharing their supplies.
“The people in the village below were escaping the rubble of the village and that was the safe spot they went to,” Sarah Heldman said.
Martinez is a registered nurse and had just wrapped up a nursing assignment at Rady Children's hospital before the trip. Her sister told an Ohio news station that Martinez is now treating the injured and is overwhelmed.
“She's been working on all the wounded and doing as much as she can so she hasn't been able to talk to us,” Yvonne Martinez said.
Family members say they're doing everything they can to get them help, but are frustrated because they haven't gotten any answers.
“No one has gotten back to us, not the U.S. Embassy, not the State Department, not the Red Cross, so it's really frustrating not knowing what efforts are being done by any official organization,” Sarah Heldman said.
