Nepal quake toll crosses 3,815
New Delhi : The death toll from the 7.9-magnitude temblor that struck Nepal was on Monday placed at 3,815, with Kathmandu accounting for nearly 1,000 deaths.
The home ministry said in a statement that another 6,515 people were injured. Saturday’s earthquake, the worst to hit Nepal since 1934, had its epicentre in Gorkha district.
According to the home ministry, 32 of the country’s 75 districts were affected in Saturday’s earthquake.
The Saturday quake also jolted India, Bangladesh and Tibet.
Nepal has appealed for assistance from the international community both to save those who may still be trapped under the debris and to rebuild the country.
The epicentre of Sunday’s earthquake was about 110 km from Kathmandu. It was shallower, at 10 km, compared to the Saturday temblor whose epicentre lay at a depth of 15 km. Saturday’s epicentre lay in Lamjung, about 75 km northwest of Kathmandu.
Thirty-five aftershocks have hit the country since the first earthquake.
The UN office here said around 6.6 million people have been affected in the Himalayan nation. The quake sparked an avalanche in the Mount Everest area, killing scores of mountaineers.
The disaster appeared to spare none, VVIPs included. President Ram Baran Yadav spent Saturday night in a tent with his many guards after the quake caused several cracks in his office-cum-residence.
“President Yadav is still in his tent,” an official told IANS.
The main entrance to the residence of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who hurriedly returned to Nepal from Indonesia on Sunday, was also damaged. So were several government offices in Kathmandu.
Worse, scores of ancient monuments and Hindu temples were destroyed or suffered varying degrees of damage, with one expert lamenting that some of them can never be restored to their original glory.
“We have launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation action plan,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal said. “Our country is a moment of crisis, and we will require tremendous support and aid.”
At least 723 people perished in Kathmandu alone while 205 others were killed in Bhaktapur, just 13 km from the capital and 125 in Lalitpur, only five kilometres away, the home ministry said.
The government has warned that the death toll was likely to rise.
The disaster brought down historical monuments such as Dharhara tower in Kathmandu while Basantapur Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square were also destroyed.
At the Dharahara tower, rescuers found some 80 bodies, officials said.
The Kantipur Daily said around 80 percent of the temples in Basantapur Durbar Square had been destroyed. These included the Kasthamandap temple, Panchtale temple, the Dasa Avtar temple and Krishna Mandir. Kasthamandap, which inspired the name Kathmandu, is a 16th century wooden monument.
A few other monuments, including the Kumari Temple and the Taleju Bhawani, have partially collapsed.
Modi said he had seen the 2001 earthquake in Kutch in Gujarat from close quarters. “I can understand what the people of Nepal are going through. My dear brothers and sisters of Nepal, we are with you.”
He said India had started reaching assistance to Nepal and sent rescue teams with sniffer dogs to save people buried in the rubble. “For Indians, Nepal’s plight is our plight. We will wipe the tears of every Nepali, hold their hands and give them support.”
The Indian Air Force said it will bring back 1,500 stranded Indians from Nepal on Sunday. Some 540 people were flown back to India on Saturday and Sunday. The air force ferried food, tents, water and medicines to Nepal.
Prime Minister Koirala has appealed to people do donate blood to save the many seriously injured.
T 1845 – O ! God .. this is Nepal earthquake ..!!! I shot a song here for 'Mahaan' with Zeenat Aman .. pray all well pic.twitter.com/Q8ZcMaB57C
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 25, 2015
In West Bengal
People rushed out of homes as tremors were felt in Kolkata and other districts in West Bengal. Read full story : People rushed out of homes on tremors felt in Kolkata, parts of Bengal
