'No support' for Nepal earthquake Brit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-32562774

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A woman whose daughter was travelling around Nepal when the earthquake struck has said she was shocked at the lack of support from the British embassy.

Evie Markham, 18, from Albrighton in Shropshire, made it to the embassy in Kathmandu on Friday evening only to be told it was closed, her mother said.

Sue Markham said her daughter was now safe in a hostel.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it was looking into her case.

In a statement, a spokesperson said FCO teams were "working around the clock" to to help British nationals in Nepal and had assisted more than 350 people, arranging flights for 140 of them.

Sue Markham, however, said her daughter had received "no help whatsoever" after arriving at Kathmandu airport.

Everest trek

"Most countries had representatives there taking people to the embassies and sorting them out," she said.

"Evie got there and there were no British people out there at all. She made her way to the embassy and was told it was closed.

"They said 'our doors are closed, we work nine to five'.

"She's 18 and on her own completely. When she got upset they got her inside and gave her a drink and a Snickers bar and that's all the help she's had."

Evie has been on a gap year since September, visiting a number of countries.

'Run for lives'

"She met up with some people she'd previously met in Cambodia and she decided to join them trekking to Everest base camp," Mrs Markham said.

She said her daughter had just left base camp when the earthquake struck a week ago.

"They had to run for their lives to a village, where they stayed for a couple of days.

"Food was running low and and they had no access to money, so they decided to trek to Lukla, nine hours away, which was quite hazardous."

With no access to money, a British man she met at Lukla airport stepped in and offered to pay the $130 for her flight to Kathmandu.

Mrs Markham said her daughter was now safe and hoped to fly back to the UK on Monday or Tuesday.

She said she had spoken to the FCO and would be lodging a formal complaint.

The FCO said it was still heavily involved supporting British nationals in Nepal.

"Helicopter airlifts continue to assist Brits in remote areas. We have emergency response teams working to locate British nationals and they have assisted several groups in the mountains over the past 48 hours," a spokesperson said.

"An RAF C-17 is on its way to Kathmandu and will take British nationals out of Nepal and to New Delhi."