Nearly 2,500 Confirmed Dead in Nepal Quake

Kathmandu (PNA/Xinhua)– Nepal authorities said on Sunday that more than 2,430 people died in the country one day after a massive earthquake struck the impoverished Himalayan nation.

At least 1,152 people were killed in capital Kathmandu, and the number of injured nationwide climbed to 5,900, they said, warning that the death toll would rise further as search and rescue efforts were hampered by damaged roads, ineffective communication lines and landslides.

A lack of electricity was complicated by a scarcity of water and medical supplies were also dwindling, aid groups said.

A staggering 7.9-magnitude quake, the worst to hit the nation in over 80 years, shook central, western, mid-western, and far- western parts of Nepal at midday on Saturday, leaving tens and hundreds of people injured and causing damage to properties worth over billion U.S. dollars.

In Kathmandu, thousands of people had spent the night on pavements, in parks and open fields in chilly temperatures, too afraid to return to their ramshackle homes.

Most of historic buildings in the worst-hit Kathmandu Valley were destroyed in Saturday’s catastrophe while a 6.7-magnitude aftershock jolted Nepal on Sunday.

Among the buildings collapsed in the capital was the landmark nine-story Dharahara tower, a major tourist attraction.

Police said about 150 people were believed to have been in the tower at the time of the disaster.

Hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley, which were swarming with patients,were running out of emergency supplies and space to store corpses. Some doctors were treating patients in makeshift tents.

In Mount Qomolangma’s worst disaster, the bodies of 18 mountaineers were recovered from the mountain on Sunday after being caught by in the quake-triggered avalanche.

Six helicopters had managed to reach the mountain after the weather improved, reports said.

The powerful tremor, which was followed by at least 14 aftershocks, also lashed parts of India, and was felt in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Some 61 people died from the quake in India and a few in several other countries.

Aftershocks were reported throughout the day, including the 6.7- magnitude follow-up one that struck in the afternoon. (PNA/Xinhua) LAM/EBP