A LAOIS woman and her husband had a terrifying experience in Nepal when a massive earthquake hit the country causing over 7,000 deaths and 15,000 injuries last weekend.

The couple are still trapped on the side of Himalayan Mountains following snow avalanches and aftershocks from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake. Such was the ferocity of the quake that homes and buildings were reduced to rubble by the worst earthquake to hit the region in 80 years.

Mandy O’Donoghue (née Kirwan) from Ballylinan, along with her Dublin-born husband Declan, took career breaks in January from their accountancy and taxation jobs in Dublin following their marriage in Saint Anne’s Church, Wolfhill just seven months ago to travel the world.

Mandy with the Himalayan Mountains in the background, just days before the earthquake struck

On 11 April, the couple set off on their travels. They arrived in Kathmandu where they stayed sightseeing for a few days. They then travelled to one of the base camps at the foot of the Alps in the Himalayan Mountain range. They were staying at a hostel ironically named Happy Ever After.

The couple had been keeping in contact with their families at home via Skype and WhatsApp whenever they could pick up a wi-fi signal.

Taking up the story, Mandy’s mother Bríd told the Laois Nationalist: “We were in contact with her that Wednesday before the earthquake. They told us that they were about half-way up the mountain at a small village named Dingboche. They said that they were fine and that everything was going great for them.

“At about four 9am on Saturday we got word that a massive earthquake had hit Nepal. Later that night, Mandy got through to us and told us that they were not injured and were okay. She said that when the earthquake struck, she could feel the whole mountain-side tremor and shake. She told us that the villages above and below them were crushed but that where they were, in Dingboche, escaped relatively untouched with just the roof of a shed collapsing.

“She said that Dingboche was in a kind of a cocoon, something similar to the way the Windy Gap is in a hollow at Stradbally, so it escaped the brunt of the quake and the snow avalanches.”

Mandy’s mother continued: “We can’t text or email or get in contact with them. We have to wait for them to make contact with us, such is the poor wi-fi signal where they are. They contacted us and told us they were safe, but are trapped in the village. They said that they are not sure how they will get down from the mountain because all the trails have been wiped out or are not in good shape to travel on.

“We’re glad that they are okay and well, but they’re so far away. It must be very hard on them, just married last September and having to face that without their family around them.

“Sometimes the family do get scared. Everybody is praying for them and supporting eachother here. Declan’s mother rings and I ring her if we hear any news at all.”

Speaking yesterday (Monday), Ms Kirwan added: “We were in contact with them again through Skype on Sunday. They’re okay but still very shocked after their terrifying ordeal.

“They told us that when the avalanches hit, they were in their hut and heard people screaming and shouting outside. They said the roar of the snow was thunderous and very frightening. There were tremors after the earthquake all that Saturday night. They witnessed local people struggling to go to villages further up the mountain that had been crushed by the snow. There was one man struggling to bring ten ladders with him and another who had six gas cylinders tied to him trying to get up to the villages.”

Ms Kirwan said that herself and her husband Tom wanted to thank everyone for the prayers and their messages of support during the past week. She also acknowledged the positive benefits that technology played, keeping them updated and reassured about how the couple were coping.

Ms Kirwan also paid her condolences to the families of the thousands of people who had lost their lives in the earthquake and thanked the local guides for looking after Mandy and Declan.