(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Tens of thousands of people were spending the night in the open under a chilly and thunderous sky after a powerful earthquake devastated Nepal yesterday, killing more than 1,382 people, collapsing modern houses and ancient temples and triggering a landslide on Mount Everest. Officials warned the death toll would rise as more reports came in from far-flung areas.
Nepal urged countries to send aid to help it cope with the aftermath as the desperate search for survivors continued into the early hours today.
As fears of a humanitarian disaster grew, thousands of people braved freezing temperatures to sleep on pavements, in parks or in fields, too afraid to return to homes damaged by the quake.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 7.9. It said the quake hit at 11:56am local time (0611 GMT) at Lamjung, about 80km northwest of Kathmandu.
The quake tore through the middle of highways in the capital and also caused damage to the country's only international airport which was briefly closed. Aftershock tremors could be felt more than two hours after the initial quake.
The home ministry said the death toll had reached 1,382. A police spokesman said more than 630 of them were killed in Kathmandu Valley and at least 300 more in the capital.
"We have launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation action plan and lots needs to be done," said Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal. "Our country is in a moment of crisis and we will require tremendous support and aid," he told Indian television.
Hospitals across the nation struggled to cope with the dead and injured from Nepal's worst quake in 81 years, and a lack of equipment meant rescuers could look no deeper than surface rubble for signs of life.
Areas of Kathmandu were reduced to rubble, and rescue operations had still not begun in some remote areas. Among the capital's landmarks destroyed in the earthquake was the 60-metre-high (100-foot) Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for the queen of Nepal, with a viewing balcony that had been open to visitors for the last 10 years.
A jagged stump 10 metres high was all that was left of the lighthouse-like structure. As bodies were pulled from the ruins, a policeman said up to 200 people had been trapped inside.
Across the city, rescuers scrabbled through the rubble of destroyed buildings, among them ancient, wooden Hindu temples.
Foreign climbers and their Nepalese guides around Mount Everest were caught by the tremors and a huge avalanche. An Indian army mountaineering team found 18 bodies on Mount Everest, where an avalanche unleashed by the earthquake swept through base camp. More than 1,000 climbers had gathered there at the start of the climbing season.
Aid groups readied staff to go to Nepal with supplies to provide clean water, sanitation and emergency food. A spokesman for Nepal's home ministry said the government had released around $500m as emergency funds for rescue operations.
Neighbouring India, where 44 people were reported killed in the quake and its aftershocks, was first to respond to calls for help, sending military aircraft with medical equipment and relief teams. Offers of help poured in from governments around the world, with the United States and the European Union announcing they were sending in disaster response teams. There were similar offers from Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In Europe, Britain, Germany, Norway and Spain also pledged support and assistance.
China's official Xinhua news agency said that 13 people were killed in the Tibet region.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.