* This story was updated at 8.40am.
Kathmandu - Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has been informed of four South Africans who are trapped in a valley in Langtang, a few hundred kilometres from Kathmandu.
The four have been named as Mike Sherman, Kate Ahrends, Heinz Hochrinner and Irma Fourie by members of the Gift of the Givers relief team, which arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday to assist with rescue and humanitarian work after a deadly earthquake caused widespread devastation in the mountain country last weekend.
According to Gift of the Givers medical team leader, Dr Qasim Bhorat, they received word that the hikers, part of a multi-national group of about 60, had been trekking in the area when there was an avalanche caused by the massive earthquake. According to reports in local media, the valley was completely destroyed and most of the houses in villages damaged.
A Dutch national and a Nepalese guide apparently sustained minor injuries and the rest of the group was stranded but unhurt. They had set up a temporary shelter and were waiting until they could be evacuated.
Upon arriving at an operations centre at Hattiban, Lalitpur, Bhorat said he was approached by two Israelis who told him about the group.
“They came up and said; “Are you from South Africa?” and when I said “yes”, they said they had been with South Africans who were stranded in the Langtang pass, a narrow valley below the main Himalayan mountain range known for its spectacular scenery.
“They were with them the day before they had been evacuated thanks to travel insurance, but were not able to take others with them,” he said.
They gave Bhorat details about the group and said the South Africans were unhurt and were coping. They had some supplies and the priority for Gift of the Givers was to arrange to evacuate them.
The challenge is that because of the scale of the disaster, access roads are blocked and helicopters are in high demand. The rainy weather made flying difficult but he assured that everything was being done for the South Africans among the party and they were negotiating to airlift them out as soon as possible.
To date, over 5 500 have been killed following the earthquake in Nepal, 11 000 have been injured and thousands more have been displaced.
* Independent Media is in Nepal courtesy of Gift of the Givers.