RESCUERS and residents on Saturday (april 25) started the desperate search for people trapped amongst the rubble after a powerful earthquake struck Nepal, killing hundreds.
The death toll for the earthquake has risen to 758, a home ministry official has said, of which 467 were in the Kathmandu Valley that is the most heavily population part of the Himalayan region.
The magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Nepal and sent tremors through northern India, toppling a 19th-century tower in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and triggering a fatal avalanche on Mount Everest.
There were reports of devastation in outlying areas of the Himalayan country after the quake struck, its epicentre 50 miles (80 km) east of Nepal’s second largest city, Pokhara.
The worst quake to hit the impoverished Himalayan nation in 81 years also caused damage in neighboring Indian states and Bangladesh. The quake was shallow, intensifying the amount of energy released over a relatively small area.
There was little information coming from the outlying areas of the mountainous country and helicopters were circling overheard to get a better sense of the damage.
A tourism official has said eight people were killed by an avalanche unleashed by the earthquake that swept through the Everest Base Camp for climbers of the world’s highest mountain, adding that the toll could go up and could includes foreigners as well as sherpas.
A collapse in communications was hampering efforts to launch relief efforts across Nepal’s rugged terrain.
A 19th century tower collapsed in Kathmandu when the quake struck shortly before noon local time. A policeman said that up to 200 people had been trapped there.
The Dharara Tower, built in 1832, was a landmark that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years and had a viewing balcony. A stump just 10 metres (33 feet) high was all that was left of the 14-storey structure. Several bodies were brought away from the ruins.
At the main hospital in Kathmandu, people with broken limbs and arms were being rushed in for treatment. Crowds and volunteers formed human chains to clear the way for ambulances to bring in the injured.
A 1934 quake of magnitude 8.3 in Nepal killed over 8,500 people. (Reuters)