JOIN USRescuers race against time as toll crosses 2,500 in Nepal
Racing against time, rescuers on Sunday waded through tonnes of rubble of flattened homes and buildings in Nepal to look for survivors of the earthquake that has killed over 2,500 people, including five Indians, and left more than 6,000 others injured.
Fresh powerful aftershocks on Sunday triggered panic among the stricken people and caused avalanches on Mt Everest, which had on Saturday claimed 22 lives. A strong 6.7-magnitude aftershock followed by another measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale sent people scrambling for open spaces.
Rains late on Sunday night added to the misery, hampering rescue work.At overstretched hospitals, where medics were also treating patients in hastily-erected tents, staff were forced to flee buildings for fear of further collapses. Mass cremations were held here as the toll continued to climb throughout the day.
“Electricity has been cut off, communication systems are congested and hospitals are crowded and are running out of room for storing bodies,” Oxfam Australia chief executive Helen Szoke told AFP.
The fresh aftershocks forced Kathmandu airport to close for around an hour as air traffic controllers evacuated their centre. Several flights had to be diverted in mid-air.
Saturday's 7.9-magnitude temblor left a trail of devastation and suffering, with people spending the cold night in the open because of fears of fresh quake. In Kathmandu, a city of 30 lakh, whole streets and squares were covered in rubble. Officials fear the toll could rise as desperate search for survivors continued.
Rescuers have been hunting for survivors under heaps of debris with bare hands as well as heavy equipment, though the efforts have been hampered due to fresh tremors, thunderstorms and snowfall in the mountain ranges.
Locals and tourists sifted through mounds of debris for survivors. Cheers rose when people were found alive, though mostly bodies were pulled out.
International rescue teams, including from India, arrived here as Nepal declared a state of emergency in the wake of the disaster—the worst in over 80 years of the country’s recorded history.
Officials here said five Indians, including the daughter of an Indian embassy staffer, were among those killed in the quake.
Meanwhile, offers of help poured in from around the world, with dozens of nations or aid groups volunteering everything from sniffer dogs to an inflatable hospital.