SEPANG, May 4 — What kept Zuraini Abdul Malek going as she walked down the mountains of Nepal following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which struck the country last week was the thought of her two children back home.

She, along with seven other Malaysian trekkers who were stranded while hiking to the Everest Base Camp on the day of the incident, arrived at KL International Airport yesterday. 

The 35-year-old said her trekking team’s journey back from Lobuje, a small settlement near Mount Everest, was perilous. 

“It was a scary four-day walk, up and down the peaks to get to Lukla Airport and we were still feeling aftershocks,” she said.

“I even saw people falling off the hillsides, and all I could do was cry. There was nothing we could do but press on.

“The paths were not safe and we hardly had any rest. There were times I felt like giving up. But I thought of my children and family, and just pushed through.”

Zuraini is among the lucky ones who escaped the disaster which has so far claimed mnore than 7,000 lives and left some 14,000 people injured.

The group started its journey on April 19 and was having lunch at a teahouse in Dingboche when the earthquake struck.

“We initially thought it was just an avalanche or a landslide, so we continued on to the Lobuje camp,” said the team’s leader, Zakaria Talib, 54.

“We found the camp full of foreign trekkers, including those who had returned from the Everest Base Camp — that is when we realised there was a major disaster. We spent the night there, listening to others tell stories about the fatalities they saw.

“The next morning, although just five hours away from our destination, we decided to abandon the expedition and turn back.”

As all helicopters were being used for more pressing search and rescue efforts, the team decided to brave going back down on their own. 

“We had to run past some stretches, where there was a threat of boulders dislodging from the cliffs,” said Zakaria, who trekked the Annapurna circuit two years ago.

“We had jitters crossing four suspension bridges as one of them was badly damaged by the earthquake.”

“As we came down, we saw that some of the places we stayed barely a week ago were mostly gone.”

From Lukla, the team members boarded a flight charted by their insurance company to Kathmandu, where they stayed for two nights before flying back to Kuala Lumpur.

Satyiana Rosli, 35, said the devastated capital city was a traumatic sight, with buildings and homes replaced by piles of rubble.

“As we walked to our hotel, I saw rescuers digging through the rubble to pull people out, but I think some of them were already dead,” she said.

“People there are badly affected. If anyone is thinking of donating, they really should.”

Mohd Zamri Abdul Ghani, 43, agreed with Satyiana, describing the temporary shelters set up for those left homeless as “devastating”. 

“Everywhere you looked, it was just tents, with people living under plastic sheets. Many lost everything they had,” he said.