A team of Gurkhas has been dispatched to help in the search for a Maidstone man, still missing more than a week after a devastating earthquake hit Nepal.

Matt Carapiet from Peverel Drive in Bearsted last made contact when he was in Kathmandu as he was preparing to start the Langtang Trail, several days before the disaster struck.

Yesterday the Foreign and Commonwealth announced that two Gurkha units had been dropped into the Langtang village area to search for the 23-year-old.

His parents, Jill and Greg, have been vocal in their criticism of the government's response to the crisis, saying they were not receiving enough information about the search for their son.

A statement on the family's Facebook page, Bring Matt Carapiet Home, today said: "We had no news as of last night.

"The Gurkhas have all the information about Matt's location, appearance, the kit he was carrying and his likely destinations on the day of the earthquake.

"All our thoughts are with Matt, and hoping that the Gurkhas can see something on the ground that the helicopters could not see from the air."

Meanwhile, the Nepalese community in Maidstone are today staging a candlelit vigil to pay their respects to those affected by the earthquake.

They will be taking donations in Jubilee Square and at the junction of Week Street and Earl Street between 9am and 5pm.