Harborough Magna man still missing after Nepal quake - The Rugby Observer

Harborough Magna man still missing after Nepal quake

Rugby Editorial 30th Apr, 2015 Updated: 27th Oct, 2016   0

A BUDDHIST monk from the borough is one of 90 Britons missing in Nepal after a devastating earthquake.

Martin Gattuso, from Harborough Magna, is on a list of British and Irish-born people, compiled by the International Committee of the Red Cross, who are believed to be missing in Nepal after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday (April 25).

Martin, a 38-year-old former ballet dance teacher and ordained monk who also goes by the name of Thubten Senge, had also previously worked teaching English in Bhutan with the Bhutan Canada Foundation.

It is believed he was in Solukhumbu, west of Kathmandu, when the quake struck and his last contact with family and friends was on April 1.




His father Michael and mother Susan are listed as contacts should anyone know where Martin is.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said several hundred British nationals are thought to be in the country.


The earthquake, the epicentre of which was between Pokhara and the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has now claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people, including 18 on Mount Everest, and others in neighbouring China and India.

Initial reports suggested many communities, especially those close to mountainsides, suffered significant quake damage and

officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams reach remote mountainous areas of western Nepal.

Rescue missions and aid are arriving in Nepal from abroad to help cope with the aftermath of the earthquake, which is the worst to hit Nepal in more than 80 years.

More than 200 climbers have been rescued around Mount Everest, which was struck by deadly avalanches

And efforts to dig victims out from under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kathmandu are also continuing.

*RUGBY charity Practical Action is appealing for donations to help the rescue effort in Nepal.

The charity has a number of staff in the country who work on various humanitarian projects.

It says they are all safe and work will now begin to help with a major rescue effort.

Visit practicalaction.org/helpnepal to make a donation.

*THREE medics from West Midlands Ambulance have travelled to Nepal to help the rescue effort.

Dr Malcom Russell, Steve Watkins and Simon Greenfield have all travelled to the country following Saturday’s earthquake.

Dr Russell is a medical incident officer with the trust and an emergency doctor with experience of the Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami.

Steve Watkins, a paramedic and member of the S.A.R.A.I.D (Search and Rescue Assistance In Disasters) and Simon Greenfield, a Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) paramedic have also joined the rescue effort.

Trust chief executive, Anthony Marsh, said: “Our good wishes go with all three of them as they go into what will undoubtedly be an horrific scene.”

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