Nepalese army personnel and a sniffer dog search for victims amidst the rubble of collapsed houses after Saturday's earthquake in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 27, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
KATHMANDU - As of Monday, death toll from Saturday's strong quake in Nepal has climbed to 3,351, and 6,833 others were injured.
The quake also caused 66 lives in India and at least 20 in China's Tibet autonomous region.
The 7.9-magnitude tremor, the country's worst in eight decades, jolted central, western, mid-western and far-western parts of Nepal. It caused tremendous damage in capital Kathmandu, including severe damage of the historic buildings in the Kathmandu Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The massive disaster and several big aftershocks have generated fear and anxiety in the impoverished country, which suffers a lack of basic supplies. The international community has been sending out rescue teams and humanitarian aid to Nepal.
MULTIPLE AFTERSHOCKS
The powerful earthquake was followed by at least 15 big aftershocks, including a 6.7-magnitude one on Sunday afternoon.
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.
Aftershocks are also terrifying to hundreds of foreign and Nepalese climbers who remained trapped in the Himalayas, where at least 17 people have been killed after a huge avalanche triggered by the earthquake swept a base camp.
Some aid flights were unable to land as Kathmandu's main airport was closed several times on Sunday as a result of aftershocks. Some aid vehicles traveled over land from Indian to Pokhara, a Nepalese city 80 km from the epicenter.