Horror stories of dead bodies, collapsed buildings and dozens of tremors were recounted by survivors of the Nepal earthquake, who returned to Bahrain last night.

Thirty-seven people, including 20 Bahrainis, were reunited with family members who were anxiously waiting at the arrivals terminal of Bahrain International Airport holding flowers and gifts, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Relatives and friends were seen hysterically crying as the survivors walked out carrying camping bags '“ some of them running towards their loved ones.

They told the GDN they were 'lucky to be alive' as they miraculously escaped the massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which struck the densely populated Kathmandu Valley.

Some of them were still reeling from Saturday's catastrophic quake, which has killed more than 5,000 people, wrecked houses, flattened centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches on Mount Everest.

Bahraini Yaseen Assiri, who was in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck, described being in the midst of the devastation.

“We were among a group of 22 people, including Bahrainis, Jordanians and Indians, who travelled to Nepal for hiking and to attend a musical festival,” the 27-year-old told the GDN at the airport.

“We were in the market in Kathmandu when I suddenly felt rumbling beneath my feet.

“I was then thrown to the ground and I got up in a dazed state and froze.

“I did not know what to do. I saw people lying dead on the ground and buildings collapsing before my eyes and I realised I was in the middle of a catastrophe.

“We saw our hotel get destroyed after a nearby building fell onto it because of the earthquake.”

Assiri said he camped outside with his friends for days without food or help after their hotel collapsed.

“We had no where to go, sleep or even get treated for our bruises,” he described.

“In addition we had to deal with 32 tremors that followed the earthquake.

“We had to camp for days in parks without proper food, electricity or water - the only thing we ate were apples and we were starving.

“We also went on top of mountains because we were scared something would collapse on us. We tried to contact the Bahrain Embassy before we found out there wasn't one (in Nepal).

“We were surprised because all our friends from other nationalities were being rescued by helicopters from mountain tops.

“We called the Saudi Embassy but no one was answering - then we finally managed to get through to them and they helped us fly back to Bahrain.”

Another Bahraini, Hamed Hassan, was hiking when the earthquake struck.

“I was with a bunch of friends hiking on top of a mountain,” said the 29-year-old.

“We were all thrown into the air when the earthquake happened.

“We were all very lucky to survive this earthquake and so happy to be back in Bahrain.”

One of the parents waiting at the airport told the GDN he lost contact with his 27-year-old son for 24 hours.

Zakir Ahmed Mohammed said it was the most terrifying time of his life as he prayed that his son would still be alive.

“My son Zuhaib went to Nepal with his friends three days before the earthquake struck,” said the Bahraini.

“We then heard about the earthquake and were terrified when we tried to contact him several times but the phone lines were down.

“We could not reach him for 24 hours and I prayed that he would still be alive.”

Mohammed said his son travelled to Nepal for his bachelor party.

“He is getting married in August and he decided to go to Nepal as part of a bachelor party before the wedding,” he added.

“Luckily he returned back unhurt and we are very happy that he is safely back with us.”

Another father said he was relieved to be reunited with his 27-year-old daughter, who missed a bus to Kathmandu just two hours before the earthquake struck.

“My daughter Tanushree was 2km from Kathmandu,” Indian Vinit Mathur told the GDN.

“She was there for four days to go mountain climbing but she missed a bus to Kathmandu just two hours before the earthquake happened. I am so happy that she did not make it to the mountains and she is back home safely.'

The group was the first batch to arrive in Bahrain after boarding an Air Arabia flight from Nepal via Sharjah. - TradeArabia News Service