Nepal PM puts quake toll at 10,000, says rescue ops not effective

Kathmandu, April 28

Rescuers and international aid workers on Tuesday struggled to reach relief in remote areas of Nepal which is still battling the aftermath of Saturday’s killer earthquake whose death toll has been put at around 10,000 by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.

Three days after the 7.9-magnitude temblor flattened their homes and dwellings, desperate people across Nepal looked for succour from helicopters that criss-cross the Himalayan nation as massive international aid, including from India, poured in.

Prime Minister Koirala, who was in Indonesia when the earthquake struck and returned home on Sunday, held an all party meeting in which he said government was sending desperately needed tents, water and food supplies to those in need.

He acknowledged that authorities were overwhelmed by appeals for help from remote villages but the administration has been unable to initiate rescue efforts in many areas due to lack of equipment and rescue experts.

Koirala told Reuters that the death toll could reach 10,000 because information from the affected remote villages is yet to come.

Eight million people have been affected by the devastating earthquake, the United Nations said today.

Over 1.4 million need food: UN

More than 1.4 million need food, while water and shelter are also in short supply, the UN said in a report.

Hundreds of people are still trapped under tonnes of rubble in capital Kathmandu and some of the worst-affected remote mountainous areas.

Koirala has admitted that the rescue, relief and search operations have not been effective. He has urged the political parties to work together in this national crisis.

At least 5,057 bodies have so far been recovered after Saturday's massive earthquake that struck just outside of capital Kathmandu, a Nepalese police official said. Over 10,000 people have been injured in the quake.

Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae today met Koirala and briefed him on the relief and rescue assistance provided by India under 'Operation Maitri'.

The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for India's swift response on relief and rescue assistance.

"Our assistance so far has included makeshift hospitals, food, water, medicines, search and rescue teams, power restoration team, two engineering teams and more assistance in terms of dry food ration and essential medicines are expected soon," Embassy sources told PTI.

India's NDRF teams are also working at the world heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley.

Indian defence teams are flying to far-flung areas such as Gorkha district where the epicentre of the quake was located.

The Ambassador also met with the Nepal's Chief of Army General Gaurav Rana and sought assistance of the Nepalese Army for the evacuation of Indians from remote mountainous regions in Nepal. To this the Army Chief promised full support and assistance, the source said.

Nine districts highly affected

Meanwhile, the Nepalese government has announced nine districts as highly-affected areas.

Based on human casualty, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Dhading, Bhaktapur, Gorkha, Kavre, Lalitpur and Rasuwa have been declared as the most-affected districts.

The government has said that altogether 60 districts have been affected by the earthquake.

Of those killed in the earthquake, 923 are from Kathmandu, 240 from Bhaktapur and 157 from Lalitpur while the rest are from outside the Kathmandu Valley.

The quake, the worst in over 80 years, and the subsequent powerful aftershocks have forced people out to live in the open under plastic tents, barely shielding them from cold and rains that have pounded the city.

Three days after the quake hit the country, rescue teams have still not reached some of the worst-affected areas of Lamjung, the site of the quake's epicentre.

"We are still at the rescue and relief operation. Rescue operation is going on even within the valley, collapsed structures are major challenge still.

"There have been requests from many places, we have been able to attend to some. We are still trying to put together group of people here, expertise is needed from various areas,” Nepal's Information and Communications Minister Minendra Rijal said.

Mass cremations are being held for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal, even as rescuers continued to pull out bodies buried under the rubble of flattened homes and buildings.

Hundreds were cremated in open grounds as funeral pyres burned with families of victims wailing in grief after losing their loved ones.

Nepal has issued epidemic and health warnings, media reports said. — PTI