First person account: "People were jumping out of the lower floors"

Pranay Kamal recounts the terrifying ordeal he went through when the 7.5 strong quake hit Kathmandu

Pranay Kamal is a senior graphics designer currently living in Kathmandu with his family. He was outside the house when the quake hit. Here is his first-person account of the earthquake.

"The maid and my younger daughter Aashi, who is two and half years old, were on the 15th floor when the quake hit, the apartment (Suncity Apartments, Pepsi Cola area) started to crack and they came down in a panic. All the elevators were jammed. I was outside the building but I fell down by the wayside because of the shaking, my knees just gave away.  I couldn’t believe it. 

My wife, Asha, wanted to go back inside to get the baby out, but I managed to stop her because the stairs were crowded with everyone rushing down. 

 

All around me, people were screaming, running for safety. The plaster was falling off the buildings. A number of people started jumping out of the first and second floors to save themselves. 

We are out in the open now, but the aftershocks are still continuing. I have still not recovered, my legs are still trembling."