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19 March 2024

Nepal quake: Families of 'Missing 6' want to speak to their sons

The last picture sent by the six boys a day before the earthquake struck in Nepal. (Supplied)

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

LATEST: After receiving unconfirmed information that the missing six from the UAE are safe, family members still await official word on that status of the boys in Nepal.‎

Chandrasen Gandhi, father of Sunil Gandhi, one of the six holidaymakers who have not made contact since Saturday’s earthquake, said: “We have been receiving a lot of second-hand information on the status of our boys... but as a parent, I can believe this once I speak with one of them to be absolutely ascertain they are safe.”

Earlier on Monday, family members of Thanwi Ibn Kassim, Hadil Haneef, Mohammed Azhar Ali, Mazhar Mohideen, Sunil Gandhi and Nihad Ahmad received unconfirmed reports that a group from Dubai was secure with other guests staying at The Last Resort when the 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday.

Sunil’s father further added that he has contacted the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, which in turn, connected them to the control room that is coordinating relief operations.

“We are in touch with two different groups providing us with information on their whereabouts,” he further added. “The last news received was that the boys were secure at a village camp, about 100km from Kathmandu. But we haven’t spoken with any of the six boys to confirm this.”

Thanzeem Rawther, sister to missing Thanweer Rawther [aka Thanwi Ibn Kassim], further added the news they initially received via SMS on the location of the boys was unconfirmed.

She stated: “The SMS earlier shared remains unconfirmed - the source actually. So we are back to the situation where we have to confirm the sources from Nepal who are giving us updates on the boys.

“The number when we called back is unreachable.”

The family members are awaiting news from representatives from the Indian Army and Nepal Army/officials to update them with names.

EARLIER REPORT

Family members have confirmed the six missing boys from UAE have been located in a nearby village.

Thanzeem Rawther, sister to missing Thanweer Rawther [aka Thanwi Ibn Kassim], stated: “Tears of joy now. The boys are confirmed from the resort and that it’s really them.
“They are on the guest list of the resort - people who are moved to the nearby field/village area.

One of our boys’ parents have had this confirmed over phone too [sic].”
Speaking further, an emotional Rawther stated: “I can’t stop shaking since the last half hour when we heard the boys are okay, my brother is okay….

“We now wait for the relief helicopters to ferry them to safety. As far as we know, the roads are not safe for the helicopters to land.

“We will know more post 2pm when they are dispatched as per our information.”

Meanwhile, a Facebook page ‘Nepal Earthquake - The Last Resort’, which is providing information on resort guests, gave a further update stating: “While the chopper has been arranged, it’s going to first rescue 15 injured and dying people close to where camp is.

“Only once that’s taken care off will they move to this area. Next time any of us speak to them we need to ask about details other than how they are.

“Need to know if there’s enough open space for the chopper to land, smoke signals, weather conditions, number of people, how many injured out of these. The more the info, the better arrangements will be made.”

Mother on edge

Abida Kassim, mother to Thanweer Rawther [aka Thanwi Ibn Kassim], one of the missing six UAE boy, said: “So our update is that they are in a village called Tauthali in an open field area and presumably have water and food.

“We have yet to confirm that it is indeed our boys yes. We need someone to speak to one of the boys and confirm the names or at least one name.”

She further added: “We also know that the roads are destroyed to the area so the only way in or out to that area is via helicopter. They were unab

Families of the six missing UAE boys have received unconfirmed reports that a group from Dubai is currently secure with other guests staying at The Last Resort when the earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday.

Tabassum Kassim, sister to the missing Thanweer Rawther [aka Thanwi Ibn Kassim], provided an update saying: “A friend got in touch with the owner of The Last Resort who confirmed that five-six boys from Dubai were staying at the resort.

“They have now been moved to a nearby village and will move towards Kathmandu as the resort is 100km away. We really believe this is them, but are awaiting confirmation on names…”

The six UAE residents missing in Nepal were last seen in the Sindhupalchok district where the boys were also booked for a bungee jumping session.

Kassim further added: “The bungee jumping instructor was able to identify the names of one of the boys, Sunil Gandhi. He confirmed Sunil’s physical features as well and said that they are in a village near the resort with the other guests.”

Family members of the six missing boys now await update from the bungee jump instructor who will be returning to the village.

Earlier report:

Six holidaymakers from the UAE are still missing following a powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Nepal, which was the worst to hit the country in 81 years.

Family members of the six boys, who landed in Kathmandu on Friday morning for a week-long vacation, have sent out an appeal on social media, asking people with information to come forth.

Their last known whereabouts was their hotel, The Last Resort, in the Sindhupalchok district where the boys checked in on Friday afternoon.

According to family members, the group had booked a bungee jumping session for Saturday morning; the six of them left the resort in the morning of April 25 and haven’t been heard from since.

Thanzeem Rawther, sister to Thanweer Rawther [aka Thanwi Ibn Kassim] ,who is one of the six missing, spoke to Emirates 24|7 saying: “None of us have slept for the past 24 hours. We are just praying they are safe and find a way to reach word out to us.”

Rawther stated they were able to contact the resort after several attempts and were informed that all guests have been moved to a safe location, following the earthquake.

“But we don’t know if the boys are a part of this, because the last thing the hotel was aware of was that the boys decided to go trekking in the morning, ahead of their bungee jump adventure. They cannot confirm if the boys did return or not,” Rawther added.

Aged between 23-26 years, along with Thanweer, the other missing UAE residents include Hadil Haneef, Mohammed Azhar Ali, Mazhar Mohideen, Sunil Gandhi and Nihad Ahmad.

Rawther continued: “We can’t believe this is happening. They have three local contact numbers between them, but none of them are reachable. The boys who grew up together were so looking forward to this holiday.

“All of us have created a family WhatsApp group where we keep abreast of any updates or emergency hotlines that we can possibly contact for information.”

She further stated all names have been supplied to Google Person Finder and registered with the helplines and the army relief camps.

“We’ve heard from the relief camp there’s a group of trekkers that is making its way south to Kathmandu; we hope it’s them,” she added.

Meanwhile, a couple, Tarun Gulati and Ritu Gargya, who were also supposed to go bungee jumping from The Last Resort and were reported as missing, have been located, with a family member posting an update the couple is safe.

News wire AFP has confirmed the death toll from Saturday’s devastating earthquake has killed more than three thousand people, citing a Nepal government official.

Saturday’s 7.9 magnitude temblor struck Nepal before noon and was most severely felt in the capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. Aftershocks rippled through the region Sunday, spreading fear and panic, the biggest of the aftershocks was magnitude 6.7 and sent people running for open ground.

Anyone with information on the six missing from the UAE can contact bindu@emirates247.com