WATCH ABOVE: It’s believed about 500 Canadians were in the country when the quake hit and some are still missing. Jennifer Tryon has been speaking with families in Canada and looking into what our government is doing to help.
An Ottawa woman whose family had not heard from her since Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Nepal was found safe, but injured.
“Faye contacted us with a one-liner telling us she was incredibly lucky to be alive and that her friends … were OK,” Faye Kennedy’s brother-in-law said in an interview.
Kennedy, 32, was climbing in Nepal’s Langtang National Park with two friends when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit.
Although her family is relieved to have heard from her, her extent of her injuries remain unknown.
“We just got a note saying that Faye is injured and she was evacuated from Langtang,” said brother-in-law Justin Piché, his voice beginning to shake.
WATCH: Dramatic video shows Mount Everest avalanche following Nepal earthquake
Because of Kennedy’s injuries, she was airlifted to Kathmandu, he said. Her friends, however, weren’t injured and remain in Langtang.
“They weren’t immediately evacuated off the mountain, but they are with hundreds of dead bodies,” Piché said, breaking into tears, listing unknowns he and his family are still grappling with.
WATCH: Foreign Affairs ministry still working to assess status of Canadians in Nepal
“We don’t know how Faye is going to get back at this point. We don’t know what the nature of her injuries are,” he said. “But we know she’s alive and we hope that authorities and the government of Canada is going to be able to bring her back to Ottawa safe.”
Canada has dispatched its full disaster assistance response team, known as the DART, to areas of Nepal devastated by the earthquake.
The highly specialized disaster assistance response team consisting of search and rescue and medical personnel departed on a C-17 transport Sunday night, which is also carrying over 36,000 kilograms of medical and humanitarian supplies.
WATCH: Were Canadians turned away from consulate in Nepal following earthquake?
Canadian officials say there are 462 Canadians who registered before travelling to Nepal, though they warn that figure is only an estimate, since registration is voluntary.
Offices based both in Canada and abroad are working with local authorities to provide consular assistance to Canadian citizens, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
WATCH: Faye Kennedy’s brother-in-law, Justin Piché, was very emotional as he spoke about Faye’s situation.
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