Port Charlotte man survives Nepal earthquake

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.- A Port Charlotte man is back in the United States after a trip that became the most terrifying moment of his life.

Benjamin Breckheimer, who is a wounded veteran, was attempting to climb Mount Everest but found himself in the middle of an earthquake and avalanche.

Breckheimer made it out of Nepal safely and is now spending time with family in Wisconsin before he coming back home to Florida.

“My Sherpa actually came to where I was and we kind of ducked in this almost like a ditch behind like an ice wall and just waited for the avalanche to pass through. Once it did that, I gave my Sherpa a big hug not only once but twice .I actually broke down for a good minute. It was the most intense and scariest thing I’ve been through in all reality,” said Breckheimer.

Which says a lot, coming from the former combat veteran who survived an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan.

“The IED blast was instantaneous, but just seeing this big white cloud coming at you and it seemed like it took forever to get to us, and then just not knowing what was behind that was very scary,” said Breckheimer.

Breckheimer left Port Charlotte in late March with ambitious plans to summit Mount Everest.

Those exciting plans came to a terrifying halt on April 25 when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kathmandu, Nepal– rocking the city and surrounding areas.

“I actually did see quite a few dead bodies. A lot of people got crushed by rocks. I saw a lot of mass casualties when I was in Iraq and it was almost… I could almost flashback to that,” said Breckheimer.

Breckheimer told WINK News the tragic details, recounting what happened during those terrifying minutes on the mountain.

“I felt my legs wobble and I wasn’t sure if that was just because I was tired and my legs were completely exhausted but my Sherpa looked at me and said it’s an earthquake,” said Breckheimer.

He made it half way up to Mount Everest with his Sherpa when the quake hit, killing more than 7,000 people and injuring more than 14,000. Those numbers continue to rise.