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Fears Grow For Britons Caught In Nepal Quake

British survivors have started to provide accounts of being caught in the middle of one of the biggest earthquakes to hit south Asia in a generation.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said several hundred British nationals are thought to be in Nepal and some were certain to have been caught up in the earthquake.

He said embassy staff have been out combing hospitals to find any Britons in need of help but none had yet been reported killed or injured.

Around 100 Irish nationals are also believed to have been in region.

Nicholas Roxburgh, from Ormskirk, Lancashire, was among those who had a lucky escape.

He was in Kathmandu working on a rural water project when the building he was in suddenly started shaking.

The 26-year-old said he went outside when the shaking stopped and "it was immediately clear there had been casualties".

Mr Roxburgh said: "The lifeless bodies of two young children were carried in, while countless others arrived with a variety of horrific injuries."

He said as he made his way to the British Embassy he passed "a collapsed building on the way where people pulled at the broken remains looking for those buried beneath".

Mr Roxburgh was able to get in touch with his brother who works at Christian Aid after reaching the embassy, where he took shelter in a tent.

He said: "As I write this evening, the rain continues to pour onto the canvas above me as aftershocks continue.

"While much of the media attention has focused on the capital city and on Everest, I fear for those living in ... more isolated areas."

Philip Hammond said: "British Embassy staff are on the ground and have provided practical help to around 200 British nationals.

"Damage to communications infrastructure caused by the earthquakes is making it difficult to contact people who may have been trekking in remote areas so it may be some time before we, working with the tour companies, are able to identify who is in Nepal and to account for them."

Desperate friends and relatives have been using social media and an emergency search tool to find their loved ones in the aftermath of the Nepal quake.

With more than 3,218 killed and thousands more injured in Saturday’s disaster , Google fired up its Person Finder tool which aims to reconnect people after natural disasters.

One of those named on the site, first developed in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, is Abdulla Dahab, who lives in London and had been backpacking in Nepal.

Another British tourist still thought to be missing is 60-year-old Marcus Barthropp.

And Holby City actress Catherine Russell tweeted that she is looking for Mike Russell, who is 42 years old. He has not been heard of since the quake.

But a number of others have been found.

Most of the foreign embassies said large numbers of their nationals had been in touch but many remained unaccounted for.

The United States said three of its citizens had died, including Marisa Eve Girawong and Google executive Dan Fredinburg, who was killed in the aftermath of the avalanche on Everest .

Websites set up to help find those who have not yet been in touch include a Facebook page, Nepal Earthquake 2015 , and a missing list by The British Red Cross .

The hunt for the missing and injured is set to intensify in the coming days as international search and support teams arrive, including teams from Britain and the US.

:: The Foreign Office has advised that any British Nationals in need of consular assistance call +44 (0) 207 008 0000 or text NEPAL to +447860010026.

:: You can watch a special programme about the Nepal Earthquake on Sky News - on Sky channel 501, Virgin 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132 - at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm and across digital platforms.