Shropshire climber stranded on Everest after Nepal earthquake

At least 3,300 people are now confirmed dead in the disaster. Gareth Douglas, 37, from Bridgnorth, was on the north side of Mount Everest when the earthquake hit just outside Kathmandu on Saturday.

Peter Old, from Bayston Hill, who runs rescue charity Serve On, was put on standby on Saturday morning then flew out with a team of eight people yesterday at 2pm.

On arrival in Nepal, the 55-year-old will lead his team as they assess the situation on the ground and wait for instructions for international aid teams.

Climbers on that side of the mountain escaped injury but reported rocks the size of cars falling around them.

Steve Douglas, Gareth's father, said he was in constant contact with his son. Communications like transport links in the area are down, but the two have been keeping in touch through calls and emails on Gareth's mobile phone. He said: "He is at the north face base camp and it is the south face base camp that got hit by three avalanches – the south face is the more popular route.

"But he certainly felt the earthquake and he texted me 15 minutes after it happened and said it was a huge earthquake. He had been in one before but he said this one just felt huge.

"There were rocks the size of cars crashing within 300 metres of them. One of the expedition leaders described the ground as just turning into jelly."

Steve said his son's plans for the immediate future were unknown as the group had become isolated, with transport links into and out of the area being destroyed.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck Nepal before noon on Saturday and was most severely felt in the capital and the densely populated Kathmandu Valley. Aftershocks have been rippling through the region, spreading fear and panic.

The biggest of the aftershocks was magnitude 6.7 and sent people yelling and running for open ground.