Live: Nepal earthquake death toll touches 7,365; 100 bodies found at a village

Death toll in Nepal earthquake has surged to 7,365, says Nepal home ministry

The toll across Nepal from the devastating 25 April earthquake has surged to 7,365, according to the latest update by the country’s home ministry.

According to the update, the number of injured people has reached 14,355. The highest number of deaths has been recorded in the Sindhupalchowk district, which currently has soared to 2,838, while in Kathmandu the toll has steadily risen to 1,202.

As many as 10,744 government buildings have been flattened while 14,741 sustained partial damages.

Mamata Banerjee leaves for Indo-Nepal border

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for the Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district to oversee relief measures being taken.

Banerjee told newsmen at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport that she was carrying with her certain things that the Nepal government had sought.

“There is scarcity of some things in Nepal which its government has sought from us. I am carrying those things,” she said. – PTI

Sad that land where Buddha was born is in serious trouble: Modi

The situation in earthquake-hit Nepal is “beyond our imagination”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Modi said he was sad that the land where Lord Buddha was born was in serious trouble following the earthquake.

Speaking on the occasion of Buddha Poornima at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said: “I pray to Buddha that the earthquake victims should not suffer any more.”

He said the gathering was conscious of the suffering that the recent earthquake has caused in Nepal, but added that this is also an opportunity for everyone to follow Lord Buddha’s message of “karuna” (compassion), and wipe the tears of those suffering in Nepal. – IANS

Not just India: Nepal has asked all foreign search and rescue teams to leave, says NDRF DG

NDRF DG OP Singh rejected reports of the Nepal government being upset with India and said that it was not just the NDRF but all foreign search and rescue teams which were being withdrawn from Nepal.

“This is not India-specific. This is meant for all the foreign search and rescue teams have been asked to leave because their work is almost over,” Singh told CNN-IBN.

“No team of NDRF has been withdrawn from Nepal. All 16 teams are there,” Singh said, adding that he was still waiting for an official statement to be made by the Nepal government.

Nepal govt asks NDRF to return to India

According to TV reports, the Nepal government has told the NDRF in the country to wind up its relief and rescue operations and return to India.

“We don’t need further support,” CNN-IBN quoted Nepal PMO as saying. Nepal government was reportedly upset with the publicity given to India in the relief operations, sources told CNN-IBN.

Nepal govt urges foreign rescue workers to return home

Nepal’s government urged foreign rescue workers in the quake-hit capital to return home on Monday as hundreds of people visited Buddhist shrines and monasteries to mark the birthday of Gautam Buddha.

Information Minister Minendra Rijal said the major rescue work in Kathmandu and surrounding areas have been completed and that the remaining operations can be handled by local workers. However, work remained in the villages and remote mountain areas and foreign aid volunteers could work with local police and army rescuers in those areas, he said.

Since the 25 April earthquake, 4,050 rescue workers from 34 different nations have flown to Nepal to help in rescue operations, provide emergency medical care and distribute food and other necessities.

Read the full AP report here .

Aftershock of magnitude 4.3 hit Nepal on Sunday

Fresh aftershocks, including one measuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale on Sunday, sent a fresh wave of panic among people, most of whom have been staying in the open battling bad weather and scarce food and water supplies following the country’s worst earthquake in 80 years. – PTI

At least 41 Indians killed in Nepal, death toll at 7,276

At least 41 Indians are among 57 foreigners killed in Nepal in the powerful earthquake, said the Nepal police.

A total of 57 foreigners have been killed in the quake.

“So far, 7,276 people have died and another 14,267 people were injured in the quake,” the statement said.
At least 10 Indians were among injured, it added. – PTI

One-minute silence observed in memory of Nepal Earthquake victims during Buddha Poornima celebrations at Delhi attended by PM Narendra Modi.

Death toll crosses 7,200

At least 7,200 people have died in the earthquake so far as the government warned on Sunday that the death toll will climb “much higher”.

The death toll from the disaster has hit 7,250, according to the Emergency Operations Centre, with more than 14,000 injured. More than 100 were also killed in India and China.

Fifty-one bodies, including those of six foreigners, have been found in the popular Langtang trekking region hit by a quake-triggered avalanche.

“We estimate that about 100 foreigners might still be missing in the area,” senior local official Uddav Prasad Bhattarai said.

“Our priority was to get the survivors out. We rescued over 350 people, about a half of them were tourists or guides,” he told AFP in Rasuwa district that includes Langtang, north of Kathmandu. – AFP

101-year-old man rescued

Rescuers have pulled a 101-year-old man alive from his ruined home a week after Nepal’s earthquake took place.

Funchu Tamang was rescued on Saturday from the rubble of his house with only minor injuries to his ankle and hand, after the quake ripped through the impoverished country on April 25.

“He was brought to the district hospital in a helicopter. His condition is stable,” police officer Arun Kumar Singh told AFP from Nuwakot district, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu.

Read full AFP report  here .

Buddha Jayanti celebrations take place in Kathmandu

#GoHomeIndianMedia trends on Twitter

The relentless coverage has come under severe criticism from Nepali citizens and on World Press Freedom Day, the hashtag #GoHomeIndianMedia was a top trend.

Accusing the Indian media of using the devastating earthquake as a publicity platform for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Nepali youth used Twitter and Facebook to vent their anger and frustration.

So far, there have been more than 70,000 tweets under this hashtag.

Over 1,60,000 houses destroyed due to the earthquake: UN

The number of houses destroyed in quake-hit Nepal is over 1,60,000, nearly twice the number of households wrecked in the 1934’s deadly temblor that has been the country’s worst disaster of all times.

In worst-affected districts like Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk, the damage is even more extensive, with up to 90 per cent of houses destroyed, according to a situation report released by the United Nation’s humanitarian agency OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

UN also said that over 3,00,000 houses had been damaged due to the earthquake. Read the full PTI report here .

Death toll crosses 7,000

The death toll climbed to 7,057, including six foreigners and 45 Nepalese found over the weekend on a popular trekking route, said government administrator Gautam Rimal. The victims included a French national, an Indian, four other foreigners and Nepalese guides, hotel owners, workers and porters.

Runway damage forced Nepalese authorities to close the main airport on Sunday to large aircraft delivering aid to millions of people following the massive earthquake, but UN officials said the overall logistics situation was improving. – Associated Press

Death toll now over 6600

Police now say the death toll from the disaster has climbed past 6,600.

The deputy inspector general of Kathmandu police, Kamal Singhbam, was quoted by AP on Saturday as saying that 6,624 people died in the April 25 earthquake.

Efforts are ongoing to retrieve bodies from the rubble, though hopes have faded for finding anyone still alive.

Wanted to express support to my support to people of Nepal: Rahul Gandhi

After meeting the Nepal envoy for India, Rahul Gandhi said that he asked the envoy if the Congress party could help the disaster-torn country. 

“I wanted to come express my support for people of Nepal,” Rahul Gandhi said. 

ANI quoted Rahul as also saying, “Have already been co-coordinating some help, but reassured the ambassador that if they need any help they should let us know”

Rahul Gandhi visits Nepal embassy, meets envoy

Even as relief work continues in Nepal, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday visited the Nepal Embassy in New Delhi. 

Television visuals showed him writing on the visitor’s book at the Nepal embassy and meeting Nepal envoy. 

Foreign Secretary Jaishankar, NSA Doval reach Kathmandu

China has announced $10 million in aid

China has dispatched about 300 personnel to Nepal and announced about $10 million in aid so far, according to state media. – AFP

Reconstruction in Nepal will cost at least $2 billion, says country’s Finance Minister

Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said Nepal would need at least $2 billion to rebuild homes, hospitals, government offices and historic buildings and appealed for help from international donors.

“This is just an initial estimate and it will take time to assess the extent of damage and calculate the cost of rebuilding,” Mahat told Reuters.

Information Minister Minendra Rijal said the government would provide $1,000 in immediate assistance to the families of those killed, as well as $400 for cremation or burial.

Angry with slow relief efforts, people in Nepal loot relief convoys

Angry with the allegedly slow pace and inefficiency of the relief efforts in Nepal, survivors on Thursday reportedly began attacking and looting relief convoys in parts of the country.

As the relief trucks arrived in Sangachowk village, angry men, along with some children, captured three containers of tents and other items that were being transported by the Nepal army.

The people attacking the convoy said that they were afraid that the relief material, which was meant for them, might instead go to “people with connections”.

“We are hardworking, honest men…We are not robbers. But look at how we have been living. It has been almost a week after the earthquake and we are still out in the open. The children have been crying all day. They are cold and without milk. Ke garne ra, paristithi nai esto chha (What can we do, the situation called for it),” Som Bahadur Tamang, one of the people who said he tried to seize contents of one of the trucks, said.

Read the full report here .

Pakistan sends ‘beef masala’ packets to predominantly Hindu Nepal

Pakistan sparked controversy when some of the food packets it had sent as relief material to Nepal reportedly contained beef. Nepal, being a predominantly Hindu country, has banned cow slaughter.

Indian doctors from the medical team sent to Nepal found the food packets that were labeled ‘beef masala’.

Netanyahu thanks Modi for help in rescuing Israelis from Nepal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for helping Israel in its rescue work in quake-hit Nepal.

Netanyahu in a telephonic conversation on Thursday thanked the Indian PM for providing helicopters to assist with the rescue of Israelis (from Nepal) and permitting Israeli relief planes to land in India, an official statement said.

Netanyahu also conveyed his condolences to the families of the Indian victims who lost their lives and were injured in the earthquake, it said. – PTI

Foreign Secretary Jaishankar, NSA Doval to visit Nepal today

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will visit Nepal to oversee the relief and rescue efforts, according to Zee News .

Kathmandu University shuts down

Death toll could rise to 15,000, says Nepal’s Army chief

While three fresh aftershocks kept people on edge, Nepal’s Army chief feared that the death toll in the quake could be as high as 15,000.

Hopes of finding more survivors while relief operations were hit due to rains and tremors measuring between 3.9 and 4.7 on the Richter Scale.

Nepal Army chief General Gaurav Rana, who is leading the nationwide rescue effort, told NBC News, “Our estimates are not looking good. We are thinking that 10,000 to 15,000 may be killed.”

Rana acknowledged that the massive temblor left officials struggling to cope with the aftermath — including the risk of disease and growing public anger at the pace of the rescue effort.

“There is unrest, and we are watching it. Yes, there is the threat of an epidemic, and we are watching it,” he said.

Rana said he understood how many people “would be angry” about the government’s response, stressing that the army was working with the police to “identify local hot spots and control things (politically).” – PTI

Boy, woman rescued

Hundreds cheered as rescuers toiling amid rubble left by Nepal’s earthquake pulled a boy and a woman to safety on Thursday after they had been trapped for five days.

A 23-year-old maid, Krishna Devi Khadka, was found lying along with the bodies of three other people, police said. – Reuters

Death toll rises to 6,204

The death toll in Nepal from last weekend’s devastating earthquake has risen to 6,204, the National Emergency Operations Centre said in its latest update.

A further 13,932 people were injured in Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, added the centre. – AFP

Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 felt in Assam

An earthquake of slight intensity measuring 4.7 on the Richter Scale was felt in Assam post midnight on Thursday night.

The earthquake, which was felt at 12.51 am, had its epicenter in Jorhat area with its latitude 26.5 degree North and longitude 94.3 degree East, according to a MeT report.

No loss of life or property was immediately reported. – PTI

Climbing on Everest to resume by next week

Climbing will resume on Mount Everest by next week despite an earthquake-triggered avalanche that left 18 people dead on the world’s highest peak, a Nepalese government official said.

Tourism department chief Tulsi Gautam advised climbers against abandoning their expeditions, saying repairs were under way.

“The ladders will be repaired in the next two to three days and climbing will continue, there is no reason for anyone to quit their expedition,” Gautam told AFP.

Nepal’s economy will take years to recover

In mere seconds, a powerful earthquake devastated a swathe of Nepal. Rebuilding the impoverished Himalayan nation’s fragile economy will require a long slog, financed by foreign aid and money from its army of overseas workers.

Initial estimates peg the economic damage from the temblor that killed more than 5,000 people at billions of dollars. The tourism industry, a pillar of the economy, has been shattered and it’s unclear when the travelers will return.

“It’s been devastating. Their tourism economy has obviously come to a halt,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific economist with IHS. “I don’t know when it would be realistic for tourists to again visit Nepal.”

Biswas forecasts the cost of reconstruction could exceed $5 billion or about 20 percent of Nepal’s economy. An initial estimate by the U.S. Geological Service reckons damages of $1 billion to $10 billion. Other analysts say it’s far too early to assess the full cost.

Read full AP report here .

Teenage boy rescued after being trapped for 5 days

Rescuers have pulled a teenage boy alive from the rubble of a Kathmandu building that collapsed around him five days ago during Nepal’s massive earthquake.

Waiting crowds roared and cheered as the boy, who has not been identified, was carried out in a stretcher. His face was covered in dust, and medics had put an IV drop into his arm. A blue brace had been placed around his neck. He appeared stunned, and his eyes blinked in the sunlight. – Associated Press

50 districts in UP found to be earthquake-prone

The killer earthquake in Nepal has rung alarm bells across Uttar Pradesh where 50 of the 75 districts have been found to be quake-prone.

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) under the Ministry of Home Affairs has identified 29 districts under Zone-IV, considered to be the high seismic zone.

The NIDM has divided the state into three zones, with areas bordering Nepal and Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand figuring in Zone-IV.

The intensity of the tremors have led experts to rethink on how safe is the state from quakes. – PTI

4-month-old baby rescued

In a miracle, a four-month-old baby was pulled out alive by rescue workers from the rubble of a collapsed building in Bhaktapur town, at least 22 hours after the devastating temblor that struck Nepal. 

Rescue workers and soldiers initially missed the baby as they searched through the debris desperately for survivors of the quake, Kathmandu Today newspaper reported today.

Amid the tonnes of debris a baby cried out in a faint voice, prompting the rescuers to check the entire area again. 

The rescuers then carefully removed the rubble only to find the dust-covered baby boy under the debris. 

The little boy – identified as Sonit Awal – was reported to be in stable condition without any internal injuries, the paper said. – PTI

Pak PM Sharif calls up Modi, praises India’s relief efforts in Nepal

In the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif called up PM Narendra Modi and expressed his condolences on the lives lost in India.

PM Modi tweeted about his interaction with Sharif this morning, stressing on the importance of SAARC nations to unite and conduct joint exercises on disaster relief and rescue.

“Got a call from PM Nawaz Sharif. He expressed condolences on the loss of lives in various parts of India due to the earthquake,” Modi said in a tweet.

Sent 205 buses to Nepal, have evacuated 7,000 people: UP govt

Nearly 7,000 people have been evacuated from quake-hit Nepal in rescue and relief operations carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government.

“The state government is actively involved in rescue operations in Nepal and has sent 205 buses there, of which 80 buses and 29 smaller vehicles have returned with about 7,000 persons from Nepal,” an official release issued here said. – PTI