Rescuers in Nepal searched frantically Sunday for survivors of a huge quake that has killed more than 2,200 people, digging through rubble in the devastated capital Kathmandu and airlifting victims of an avalanche at Everest base camp.
After the earthquake of 7.8 magnitude caused massive destruction in Nepal, at least 14 aftershocks were reported across the country. A major 6.7 aftershock in Kodari, Nepal shook the country along with north and east India on Sunday.
Offers of help poured in from governments around the world, with the European Union and the US announcing they were sending in disaster response teams. India flew out its stranded citizens in military planes, France24 reported.
“Helicopters have been sent to remote areas. We are sifting through the rubble where buildings have collapsed to see if we can find anyone,” national police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam said.
Officials said that 17 people were so far known to have died on Mount Everest where an avalanche triggered by the earthquake buried part of base camp. Google executive Dan Fredinburg was the only climber killed to have been identified so far.
The county’s cell phone network was working only sporadically, while large parts of the capital were without electricity. The aftershock rocked buildings in the Indian capital New Delhi and halted the city metro.
Nepal and the rest of the Himalayas are particularly prone to earthquakes because of the collision of the Indian and Eurasia plates. A 6.8 magnitude quake hit eastern Nepal in August 1988 killing 721 people, and a magnitude 8.1 quake killed 10,700 people in Nepal and eastern India in 1934.
The Red Cross (IFRC) said meanwhile it was concerned about the fate of rural villages close to the epicenter of the quake northwest of the capital Kathmandu. Roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communication lines are down preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information, the IFRC said.
Weather forecasters warned that rain was on the way, with dark clouds looming over Kathmandu that promised more misery for displaced survivors.
