THREE Shannon men made it safely off Mount Everest and into India to New Delhi on Wednesday, four days after the region was struck by a ground shattering earthquake.
Davy (36) and Sam O’Neill (28), whose parents Joe and Mary live in Inis Sioda, and their friend Niall Gallagher (36), from Tullyglass but now living in Australia, decided to climb as far as the South Base Camp on Mount Everest in Nepal, an altitude of 5,364 metres, or almost 18,000 feet.
The Everest Base Camp trek on the south side is one of the most popular routes in the Himalayas and is visited by thousands of trekkers each year.
“They arrived three weeks ago this Thursday,” said Davy’s girlfriend Yvonne Reynolds.
“They were dying to do the climb, so it was just the three of them who set out on their adventure. They got as far as the base camp but they were only there when Sam got altitude sickness and he had to be airlifted to Kathmandu hospital,” Yvonne explained.
Sam was taken to hospital on Wednesday last and was still in the hospital when the earthquake struck early on Saturday morning.
“I heard about the earthquake when one of my friends texted me to ask if Davy was ok. I didn’t know anything about it and I turned on Sky News. We couldn’t get in contact with Davy until Sunday morning, because he was still on the mountain on his way down. They all felt the earthquake and Sam, who was in the hospital, was told by the nurses to get out. There were cracks in the walls and the lights went off. The nurses were all screaming and Sam was told to get out and then to go back in.
“Davy was still on the mountain and the only message I got from him was ‘I’m alive’. When Davy finally got down from the mountain on Monday, they were looking for Sam but he had left the hospital and gone to a hotel but had to leave it because it wasn’t safe. People were just sleeping on the streets in tents,” Yvonne said.
“Their brother Joey, in New Zealand, booked them three flights to New Delhi and they met there this morning about 5am (Wednesday).
“They’re all ok and safe, a bit shook alright. They’re great and their parents are very relieved; they’re so relieved,” Yvonne said.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.