Watch above: The death toll from a massive earthquake in Nepal has reached more than 1,300 people and Nepalese police expect that number to rise. As Amber Rockliffe reports, members of Saskatchewan’s Nepalese community and their friends are devastated.
SASKATOON – Tenzin Dratsun, the owner of a Broadway Avenue store in Saskatoon, flew into Nepal Friday, just hours before the earthquake hit. Joanne Jackson is one of his employees at Dharma Chakra and was relieved to hear he’s OK.
“He’s sleeping in a tent on a playground, and there’s another earthquake expected within half an hour,” Jackson explained.
“Everybody is afraid and screaming he said, but the communications are still up. The airport is closed, but he can still text us,” she explained.
Jackson said Dratsun’s wife and children are in Saskatoon, praying for his safety. The family is deeply saddened by the death toll.
The family has decided that for the next week, 20 per cent of all the store’s sales will go to helping earthquake victims.
“He’s got family over there too; he’d be worried for everyone that’s there, not for himself,” Jackson said.
READ MORE: At least 388 Canadians registered in earthquake devastated Nepal: officials
The magnitude 7.8 quake struck Nepal before noon, hitting the capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. Many smaller aftershocks continued to ripple through the region for hours.
Nepalese police said more than 1,300 people are confirmed dead.
Raju Halari owns the Pardessi Bazaar, a grocery store in Saskatoon. He said many of his customers are from Nepal, and he’s deeply saddened to hear the news.
“It’s highly devastating, so many people dying out there. Suddenly this kind of situation is happening in a place that has very difficult terrain, where it’s hilly, where people cannot reach out even if they want to,” Halari explained.
He said Saskatchewan has a large Nepalese community, and many are rallying behind them to provide support in any way they can.
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