DUBAI // Six young men missing since Saturday, have been found safe, and on Tuesday night they boarded a flydubai flight from Kathmandu.
The group of Indian trekkers from Dubai – Thanweer Rawther, Hadil Haneef, Mohammed Azhar Ali, Mazhar Mohideen, Sunil Gandhi and Nihad Khan – went missing amid the devastation of the 7.9-magnitude quake which has so far claimed the lives of more than 4,300 people.
The men were due to arrive in Dubai at 10.30pm on Tuesday night, according to Thanweer’s sister Thanzeem.
“Everybody’s been asking, ‘Shall we make banners? Shall we make garlands? What shall we do? Shall we scream?” said an excited Ms Rawther, 29. “It was so incredible. It was under an hour before flight time when they got the tickets. It was very quick since the army got them through and escorted them to the airline counter.”
Ms Rawther spent a few minutes on the phone with her 25-year-old brother before they boarded their flight. “I asked him if everything’s OK, if his flight was on time,” she said. “He said yes, there are no changes and he said he’s hungry.”
After an agonising wait for news about Thanweer and his friends, the family finally heard from them early on Tuesday morning.
“They called up at 9am or 10am in the morning and told us they were on their way to Kathmandu,” Ms Rawther said. “They boarded the bus, came straight to the airport and the embassy and army officials took them to the counter, and managed to put them on a plane.”
Ms Rawther said the earthquake should not deter tourists from visiting the country. “I haven’t been to Nepal but I’d still go because you can’t tell if something like this strikes,” she said. “We’re crazy about travelling. This is the first trip that my brother took with his friends, his first trip after finishing his MBA, and he wanted to celebrate with his friends.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
